


Melody of Agony

by Kimmimaru



Series: Melody of Agony and Extras [1]
Category: Before Crisis: Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Blood and Gore, Canon-Typical Violence, Character Death, Child Death, Death, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eugenics, Grief/Mourning, Hallucinations, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, Murder, Obsession, Obsessive Behavior, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Prison camps, Psychological Trauma, Rape/Non-con Elements, Revenge, Science Experiments, Sexual Violence, Terrorism, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence, War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-26
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:47:34
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 50,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24394501
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kimmimaru/pseuds/Kimmimaru
Summary: After meteorfall, after the geostigma crisis and after Deepground the world is finally at peace. That is until a new group of terrorists rise from the shadows, led by a charismatic man who has them convinced that anyone tainted by Jenova cells must die they intend to begin a war to end Shinra and their twisted experiments once and for all.Aerith, sensing this new threat sends Cloud some help. Some of it needed...some not so much.
Relationships: Reno/Rude (Compilation of FFVII), Sephiroth/Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Cloud Strife
Series: Melody of Agony and Extras [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1875379
Comments: 70
Kudos: 222





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please heed tags people, this is going to dark places. The Sefikura is NOT healthy. It never will be. I don't write that dynamic as healthy so if you don't like that, don't read it. It is a re-write of a fic I did a while ago and took down as there was some of it I didn't like too much. After the Remake I wanted to give it another bash...so we'll see how things pan out. Thanks in advance for reading, commenting and kudosing. :)
> 
> FYI some vague ages for you;
> 
> Cloud and Tifa; around about 24/25 years old. Rufus, Rude and Tseng; 33/34 ish. Reno; 31/32 or something. Zack; 27. Again, ish.

It was high noon. The sun was in the sky, a few clouds drifted lazily overhead. Meteor Square was bustling, the resurrected statue surrounded by flowers. People passed back and forth, stalls had been erected and people showcased their wares with loud voices to attract customers. It was summer time in Edge and it was hot.  
  
Rude stood idly beside a stall selling iced drinks, a round, bearded man filling two striped cups. Reno handed the guy some coins and the man hastily thanked him as he handed over his drinks and shoved the change into a box. Reno reached Rude's side and handed him a bright blue drink with a straw in, taking a sip of his own. He shoved one hand in his pocket as they moved away, ignoring the nervous, passing glances from shoppers. A nice, cooling breeze stirred Reno's hair as he sighed and tilted his head back to face the sun. “Nice day,” He said, nudging his partner lightly with an elbow, “Glad Tseng gave us the day off, yo.”  
  
Rude grunted, sipping his own drink as they drifted towards a nearby bench. He slumped down into it, stretching one arm out across the wooden back. He sighed happily as Reno sat beside him. They sat quietly side by side as they watched the mass of people wonder through the market and listened to the voices. It had been three years since meteor-fall, half a year after geostigma and a few months of intense recovery after Deepground. Reno was forever thankful for his lack of involvement in that particular shit-fest. “Isn't it Elena's birthday soon?” Rude said suddenly, causing Reno to look over at him, straw caught between his lips.   
  
“Think so.”  
  
“Any idea what she'd want?” Rude eyed his partner, watching him shrug.  
  
“I dunno, yo. What do you get for people's birthdays? I've never celebrated mine.”  
  
“Maybe we should change that.” Rude's fingers found Reno's hair, sliding through the strands of his pony tail and tugging playfully. “You ever had Tifa's cake? She's a pretty good cook.”  
  
Reno tilted his head with a hum, moving into the movement of Rude's fingers, “You'd get me a birthday cake?”  
  
“Yeah, with candles and-” Rude fell silent and turned his head to watch as several men surrounded a woman. She was screaming, trying to ward them away with her handbag as they circled her like wolves. “Reno,” Rude jerked his chin in their direction, Reno groaned.  
  
“Aw man, no. C'mon...we're off duty and we're on a-” Before Reno could finish his complaining Rude was already up and moving. Reno cursed under his breath and followed, finishing his drink and tossing it into a nearby garbage can.  
  
“Hey!” Rude's deep baritone cut through the rising voices and caused all eyes to move to the two Turks. People backed away with amusing rapidity as Reno and Rude approached the group of men and lone woman.   
  
“Oh thank the gods,” The woman sobbed, trembling as she noticed them, “Please, help me. They're armed!”  
  
Reno noticed two of the men held baseball bats, one had a long bladed knife. They all wore similar, dark clothing but he paid it no mind as Rude waded through them. “Put down your weapons and get outta here, yo. Go cause trouble somewhere else.” Reno said, his stance relaxed but he let his EMR slide into his palm. “I'm sure we've all got better things to do than stand here like morons,”  
  
“She's tainted,” One man said, he was young. Little more than a teenager. His big brown eyes were wide as he pointed his blade at the woman, “She's not right.”  
  
“Shut up,” His friend hissed as he dragged the boy back by the arm, “They work for Shinra!”   
  
The boy's mouth fell open in shock as he finally registered their suits.   
  
“Tainted?” Reno blinked, turning to the woman who was now crying into a handkerchief. “What's that mean?”  
  
“I don't...I don't know...” The woman managed to say through her tears, “I just wanted to get some eggs.”  
  
“Go home, the lot of you.” Rude snapped, “This ain't no place to be causing trouble.”  
  
The men backed off, a little too slowly for Reno's tastes as he brought his EMR up to his shoulder and stared them down. The teenager was first to look away and then the others followed, finally they dispersed. Reno watched them go, frowning as the leader turned to look back at them. The black clothes were a little too close to a uniform for comfort. Finally Rude saw the woman off and she gave him an apple as thanks, fruit being rare since Meteorfall.   
  
“Who were they?” Reno asked, mostly thinking aloud as Rude bit into his prize with a loud crunch.  
  
“Just some kids trying to cause trouble.” He shrugged.  
  
Reno licked his bottom lip, frowning, “Something's wrong.” He muttered under his breath as Rude turned down an alley and he followed a pace behind. He glanced behind him and almost walked straight into Rude, he stumbled a few paces back and frowned. “Hey,” He paused then as shadows appeared at either end of the alley, trapping the two Turks in. Reno clicked his tongue and sighed, “And I was just beginning to enjoy our date, yo.”  
  
Rude made a hum of agreement as he tossed his apple aside and raised his fists, straightening his gloves. Behind him Reno turned to the opposite end to face the large group of men approaching.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud pulled his bike up outside of a small, pretty little house on the very outskirts of Edge. He pulled his goggles up and cut the engine, kicking the stand down and swinging his leg over. He opened one of the compartments and removed a brown wrapped package, tucking it safely under his arm as he turned and strode towards the little white gate. He paused, glancing back behind him to see several people stop and stare. Cloud frowned, feeling their gazes like hands on his skin. He shook his head and pushed the gate open, walking down the winding path and to the door. He knocked once, still feeling the people staring as he waited. Finally the door opened to reveal a middle aged woman with her hair tied back in a bun, she smiled broadly at him. “Hello there,” She said.  
  
“Hi...Ms. Thomas?”  
  
“Yes, that's me.”  
  
“I got a package for you from your son.”  
  
“Oh!” The woman clasped her hands to her chest and her smile broadened, “Thank you.”  
  
“It's no problem, Ma'am.” Cloud handed her the parcel as she rummaged around in her purse. “Your son already paid-”  
  
“Hush now,” She waved his protests away and pushed some gil into his gloved hands, “Take this and buy something nice for your girl.” She winked at him, “Must be hard work all that travelling around, not to mention all the monsters on the roads these days.”  
  
“Uh...thanks.” Cloud flushed, putting the money in his pocket.  
  
“You be careful out there young man,” The woman urged, glancing behind him with a frown, “There's some suspicious folks roaming around.” With that she stepped back inside and closed the door.  
  
Cloud sighed, turning around in time to see a group of teenagers surrounding his bike, “Hey you, get away from there!” He called, stalking forward, “If you so much as scratch the paint, I'll-”  
  
“Monster!” One of the boys hissed, hefting a rock in his hand. He lifted his arm back and threw it. Cloud stepped aside smoothly and frowned as it thudded across the lawn of the woman's house.   
  
“What-”  
  
“Freak!” Another boy tossed another stone, Cloud caught it this time and turned it over in his hand.  
  
“Hey! Get outta here you little shits!” An older man in his seventies stepped out of a nearby house, waving a cane at the kids who scattered before him. With a sigh and a slow shake of his head he looked to Cloud, “You ok, boy?”  
  
“Fine. What was that about?”  
  
“No idea, kids been acting strange around here lately. Maybe they're just bored and looking for trouble.”  
  
Cloud looked back down the road where the teenagers had run, he frowned down at the stone in his palm. The old man leaned on his cane, watching Cloud with a hard stare.  
  
“You SOLDIER?” He asked.  
  
“Uh...no.” Cloud replied slowly, dropping the rock and moving to his bike, “Thanks for the help but next time, maybe it'd be safer to stay indoors.”  
  
The man grunted in displeasure, “I was in Wutai during the war, boy. Don't you go worrying about old folks like me, you just look after yourself, ya hear?”

Cloud nodded and swung his leg over the bike, he snapped his goggles back into place and revved the engine. With one last look back he sped off down the road, leaving a trail of dust behind him.   
  
Pushing his bike to her limits Cloud felt a familiar vibration in his back pocket. He didn't pull over and kept going, entering Edge proper. Finally he reached the bar and parked up, kicking down the stand and sliding off. He removed his goggles and ran gloved fingers through his hair, shedding road dust. He went to the door and pushed it open, causing the bell at the top to tinkle.   
  
Tifa looked up from where she was standing by the phone, “Cloud, welcome home.” Cloud nodded to her. “I'm glad you're back, I have to go to Denzel's school.” She sighed, coming around the bar to meet him, “I got a call from them saying Denzel's in trouble.”  
  
“What's wrong?” Cloud asked with a frown.  
  
“They said he got into a fight.” Tifa sighed, shaking her head. She paused, her eyes scanning Cloud's face intently, slowly she moved closer, “Is...everything ok?” She asked.  
  
“Yeah. Fine.” Cloud looked away, “I'll go with you.” He said, changing the subject.   
  
Tifa smiled, “Thanks, Cloud.”  
  
It had taken some convincing to make Denzel start attending a school again, after everything he and the world had been through Tifa believed they needed some kind of normalcy in their lives. Marlene had gone too, to keep Denzel company. The schools were small, low built buildings made from whatever people had managed to salvage in the remains of Midgar. As Tifa and Cloud pulled up outside they climbed off Cloud's bike and walked across the small playground. Inside it was cool, a noisy air conditioning unit clanked as they went to the receptionist desk.  
  
“Hello, I'm Tifa Lockheart Denzel's guardian?” Tifa smiled at the woman sat behind the low wall, the woman looked up from her fashion magazine and pursed her lips. Her eyes narrowed she swept Tifa with her eyes and sniffed disdainfully.  
  
“He's with the school principal.”   
  
Tifa forced a smile, “Thank you,” She turned to walk away but the woman spoke again.  
  
“Such a violent boy, perhaps school isn't the best place for him. The other children's parents had to come in too.”  
  
Cloud folded his arms over his chest as Tifa's hands curled into fists, she turned her forced smile onto the woman, “We've never had a problem with Denzel until today, maybe if people like _you_ -”  
  
“Tifa.” Cloud said, his voice low and even as he met the secretaries eyes, she looked away with a flushed face,“Let's go.”   
  
Tifa took a breath, shoulders rising before she relaxed, “Yeah, let's go.” She turned down the corridor and Cloud followed. Once they were far enough away Tifa shook her head, “What's wrong with people? They're so judgemental.”   
  
Cloud smiled, “Yeah, but Denzel's stronger than us. He'll be fine.”  
  
Tifa paused outside a door with the principles name on it, “Weren't you always in trouble as a kid? I remember...even my father warned me away from you.”  
  
Cloud shifted, cheeks turning pink, “Yeah...Mom was always upset with me.”  
  
Tifa laughed just as the door opened to reveal two women and a man in overalls. They stepped out with two boys in tow, “Thank you sir, I hope this will be sorted out.” The man said, reaching out to shake the hand of a thin, tall man with a pink neck tie.  
  
“Yes we will, ah! Miss Lockheart, and uh-” He paused, seeing Cloud. He blinked, lips forming a surprised 'o'. “Mr...?”  
  
“Cloud. Just...Cloud.” Cloud said, “I'm one of Denzel's guardians.”  
  
“I see, I see. Well, come right in.” He stepped aside and Tifa moved past him, head held high as the other families glared at them. Cloud pushed past the man in overalls, ignoring his glare and they entered the office. The principle followed and then made his way around his desk, taking his seat. “Welcome, I'm glad you could come on such short notice.”  
  
“It's not a problem. What happened, Mr. Jones?” Tifa sat in one of the seats in front of the desk while Cloud stood by the door, arms folded over his chest.  
  
“Well...the boys were, according to Denzel, calling Marlene some nasty names. He jumped to her defence and broke one of their noses.” He sighed and shook his head, “Where we understand why he did it, we have a strict no violence policy and he must be punished.”  
  
“Wait...what did they say to Marlene?” Tifa asked, shaking her head, “I thought she got on with everyone.”  
  
“Normally she does, she's a lovely child and everyone enjoys being around her but...” The man sighed, “Lately things have been difficult...for certain families. We're not exactly sure of the cause, none of the children seem willing to talk about it but there's been a lot of name calling.”  
  
“Like what?”  
  
“'Monster', 'traitor', 'freak'...I believe the boys outside think of Marlene as some kind of traitor.”  
  
Cloud shifted, causing Tifa to glance back at him. He shook his head at her and she turned back, “I'm sorry for Denzel's actions, I'm sure he regrets it.”  
  
“Well, either way I'll be forced to suspend him for a while.”  
  
Tifa sighed but nodded, “I understand, thank you.”   
  
They rose and the principle followed them to the door, he opened it for them and they stepped through. “Denzel's in the nurses office, just down the hall to the left.”  
  
Tifa and Cloud followed his directions, a familiar, brooding frown found itself on Cloud's face. Tifa glanced at him, “Cloud?”  
  
“I'm fine. Let's get Denzel home.” Cloud said firmly, striding ahead. Tifa hesitated, chewing on her bottom lip.

The nurses office was a small, blocky room with a single bed and a tall, willowy nurse. She greeted them as they arrived and showed them to the bed where Denzel was sitting, scowling down at his feet as they kicked at the air. He had a bruise on his cheek and grazed knuckles but otherwise seemed fine. “Denzel,” Tifa sighed as she went to him, cupping his face so he was forced to show her the bruise. He pouted. “What have you got yourself into?”  
  
“They started it.” He grumbled, “They were mean to Marlene.”  
  
“About that, what did they say?” Cloud asked.  
  
“They said she was a traitor.” Denzel folded his arms over his chest.  
  
“What does that even mean?” Tifa reached back to Cloud who took out a green orb of Materia and handed it to her. She healed Denzel's face, causing him to wince.  
  
“You don't know?” Denzel looked from Cloud to Tifa and back again with wide eyes, “There's...videos online. Released by some guy, I don't know who he is but he wears a mask and talks about the reason why all these bad things happened. He says that Shinra's to blame but also SOLDIER's and anyone who worked with them.”  
  
Cloud frowned, “SOLDIER?”  
  
Denzel nodded, “Yeah. He says that they're dangerous, monsters. People with Mako eyes and people...people who got the Stigma, like me.”  
  
Tifa glanced back at Cloud and they shared a long look between them, Cloud jerked his head towards the door, “Let's go. We're gonna get Marlene too.”   
  
When they returned to the bar the children ran upstairs, shouting at one another as they raced. Cloud started to make his way across the room but Tifa caught hold of his arm, “Cloud, what's happening? Do you...know something?”  
  
Cloud hesitated, slowly he turned to look back into her worried face, “I...Not really.” He said finally, “There was a bunch of kids when I was running a package, they threw some stones at me and...called me a...” He shook head, “I just got a bad feeling.”  
  
Tifa's hands closed on Cloud's, she hung her head, “So do I.”  
  
That evening Cloud went up to his room. He could hear people in the bar below, calling out to one another and laughing good naturedly. He peered around the kids' bedroom door and saw them both fast asleep before he pushed open his own bedroom door and went inside. He moved to his bed, meaning to sit down to remove his boots when movement caught his eye. He froze. Something cold and unpleasant slid down his spine. He turned his head slowly in time to watch a single black feather drift lazily onto his pillow. Something soft brushed his cheek, causing him to flinch back. Another feather fell to the wooden floor boards. Cloud blinked and stepped back. He shook his head, turning around but found nothing. Swallowing hard he turned back to his bed but found nothing.   
  
“You're just freaked out.” He said to himself, voice shaking only a little as he finally made himself sit down. He yanked off his boots and let them fall to the floor. He dropped backwards and pushed both hands into his hair, closing his eyes, “Just your imagination.”  
  
That bad feeling returned. Dread sitting heavily in his gut as he tried to relax.  
  
XXX  
  
Reno slumped in the nearest seat in Rufus' fancy new office building. It was much smaller than the old Shinra building and much more friendly in appearance. Sleek white walls, freshly carpeted hall ways and shiny metal elevators. Rufus' office was a painful reflection of his personality; streamlined and simple. The walls were darker here, causing Rufus to stand out much more sharply in his pristine white suit. He sat behind a large desk and watched one of his computer screens, finger tapping his chin thoughtfully. “There's no name attached to these video files.” He says finally, stirring and straightening his shoulders. “Is this the man that attacked you?” He glanced to Reno and Rude.  
  
“Not him.” Rude said, shrugging. He was bruised and now sported several stitches in his forehead, “His men though.”  
  
“Their message was damn well clear enough, yo.” Reno muttered, lifting his feet and putting his boots up on the glass coffee table.   
  
“Reno,” Rufus said sharply, eyeing his dirty boots. Reno slowly put them back on the floor. “Wanting us dead isn't enough...this man has a vendetta against more than just Shinra.” He waved his hand at the frozen image of a man with a black mask covering all but his eyes. “We need more information before we can even attempt to make a move.”  
  
Reno shifted and winced, one hand going to his ribs as they stabbed agony into his side. He gasped in a sharp breath and waited it out while Rude put a firm hand on his shoulder. “Where do we...even start, yo?”  
  
“Shinra employee records.” Tseng said, finally shifting from his spot by the large picture window that looked out over Edge. “We may as well begin with the obvious. Anyone who may have been fired or have some other grudge against Shinra,”  
  
“Maybe someone who lived in Sector 7.” Reno said, his voice heavy.  
  
Tseng nodded, “If they knew the truth then it would be a good reason for revenge.”  
  
“They're going after people they say are tainted,” Rude added after a pause, “People who had the stigma,”  
  
Rufus rubbed a hand down his face in thought as he stared into the man's eyes on his screen, “Jenova.” He whispered, breathing in sharply, “They don't know it but that's what they're picking up. They're attacking people who have been affected by the stigma which was a disease caused by Sephiroth...he used it to infect them with a little of his own genes in order to kill them and infect the lifestream.”  
  
“So far we've only seen occasional public beatings.” Tseng mused, turning to look out over Edge with a small frown, “Nothing too obvious or untoward...”  
  
“However that will change,” Rufus said grimly, “It won't be long before they take this further and gain more followers.”  
  
“He's charismatic, certainly.” Tseng agreed. “Sir, I really do think-”  
  
“I said no, Tseng. I refuse to go into hiding.” Rufus waved away Tseng's protests, “I'm more than capable of looking after myself and I have you to protect me.” Rufus went quiet for a moment before turning to his Turks again, “Tseng, I want you to contact Reeve Tuesti, we must be seen to be working closely with the WRO on this. Reno, Rude, I want you two to watch Cloud and his friends. If we're correct then they will soon become targets too.”  
  
Reno and Rude nodded, glancing at each other and sharing a silent communication before Rude rose and helped Reno to his feet. They exited Rufus' office and strode down the nearly empty corridor, Reno sighed, “I got a real bad feelin', yo.”  
  
Rude glanced at his partner, “Me too.” He agreed as they reached the elevator and pressed the call button. “You ok?”  
  
“Been better but also been worse,” Reno shrugged one shoulder, wincing again as his wounds twinged, “We beat 'em, that's what matters.”  
  
“Barely.” Rude reminded him, “If they hadn't-”  
  
“Hey, none of that, yo. I just wanna go home and have a drink and maybe a good fuck. Then I'm gonna sleep, got it?”  
  
Rude smiled as the doors opened and they went inside.


	2. Chapter 2

"The tainted walk among us! They look like us but they are not like us! They are the ones who brought about the near destruction of our world, they are the ones who destroyed everything we strived so hard to build! It is time, my people, to rise up and fight! It is us against them and they will give no quarter, neither should we! Listen to me, my friends, these tainted, these _aberrations_ , must be destroyed or humanity will forever be at their mercy! Monsters walk among us, their eyes show their mutations, look for the glow of the lifestream in them. We must protect each other, we must fight and reclaim our world! Death to all sympathisers! Death to monsters!"

Denzel gazed down at his laptop with wide eyes as the man on the screen gave his impassioned speech, he wasn't entirely sure why he was watching another of these videos but he couldn't help his curiosity. He blinked as he saw images of men with glowing eyes, flashes of explosions, the fall of Sector Seven, Meteor. He took a sharp breath and blinked rapidly as his eyes stung.

"ShinRa tell us they're turning over a new leaf. They tell us they're working with the WRO and they intend to rebuild our world, I say it's bull. ShinRa were responsible for the creation of these monsters, they inflicted this agony upon us and it's high time they paid for it! Brothers and sisters, we must unite against this plague of demons! We must gather together for we are only as strong as we are together, as weak as we are divided! We must wipe out all those with tainted blood, we must give our lives so that one day our children can walk unafraid. We have the technology to see if a persons blood is mutated, we have the technology to see through these monsters disguises. Answer my call, help me reclaim our dying world!"

Denzel swallowed and paused the video, he hesitated, chewing his bottom lip. He wasn't sure he should tell Cloud and Tifa, he didn't know how they would react. As the weeks passed attacks on people were becoming increasingly frequent, he and Marlene were rarely allowed outside. He shifted uneasily, he could feel the pull of the man on the screen, he was certainly charismatic and appeared completely righteous but Denzel knew Cloud, he knew he wasn't a monster. He was a hero. "Shit." He sighed, running a hand through his hair and shutting off the video.

XXX  
  
Leo whistled as he left his house, bouncing his car keys up and down in the palm of his hand. He locked the house and walked down his garden path, he admired the flowers growing there before he pushed open his gate and paused. He looked up at the sky and smiled, the day was bright and perfect for a good spot of fishing. He started to hum as he went to his car and unlocked the door but, before he could move, agony tore down his spine and he grunted. His glowing blue-green eyes widened and he slowly looked down to see the point of a sword sticking through his gut. He blinked, the world swaying and darkening around the edges before the weapon was yanked from his back and he slid to the ground. If he hadn't been in so much agony he would have laughed at the irony of it all. Just as he had been feeling safe. Just as he had realised he was free of ShinRa, of the horrible experiments that had given him his inhuman strength. Just when he was settled and happy he had been stabbed in the back. His eyesight faded slowly, the world fleeing with the light as blood stained the ground around his body.   
  
XXX  
  
Kunsel lifted his baseball cap and raised an eyebrow at the men who had been tailing him, he shifted his heavy load, a bag full to bursting with shopping. "I'm guessing you don't want my autograph then, huh?" He said, tilting his head as the men approached cautiously. Kunsel lowered the bag and gave them all a smile, he dropped it and, in a movement almost too fast to see, swept a small blade out from inside his light-weight jacket. He crouched and watched the men warily as they edged closer.

"Come and get it, cowards!" Kunsel growled, eyes flashing in the shadows of his cap. "I just wanted a normal life! I just wanted to live in peace, why've you gotta go and ruin that?"

"SOLDIER scum!" One man shouted, throwing what looked like a Molotov cocktail at Kunsel who dodged aside, using his wicked looking knife to slice right through the bottle so it sailed harmlessly by to shatter on the pavement at his feet. “Monster!”

"Fine. If this is how you want it." Kunsel glared as the men closed in on him.  
  
XXX  
  
Quinn lifted a heavy fist and slammed it into one of his attackers faces, another guy grabbed him from behind and lifted him into the air. He twisted violently, lashing out with a steel capped boot and hitting another guy in the face. Blood sprayed and the man released him, he dropped to the floor and caught his breath. There were too many of them. He was out-manned and backed into a corner. He was ex-SOLDIER, he wasn't going to go down without one hell of a fight. Silently he apologised to his wife and daughter, knowing with utmost certainty that he wouldn't return home to see his child grow.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud leapt from one pile of rubble to the next. He ducked a bullet, blocking another with the flat of his blade. He panted, diving behind a broken pillar as he took a second to catch his breath. He pressed his back against it, tilting his head back to look up at the sky. He heard his pursuers shouting to one another as they searched for him below. He closed his eyes, shaking his hands out. He had gathered a large number of people dressed in black as he'd been making his way back to the bar, rather than give away where he lived and put Tifa and the children at risk he had taken a route back into old Midgar. They had been chasing him for a while now, trying to wear him down. They had tried surprise but it hadn't worked. Cloud licked at his dry lips, lifting an arm and wiping sweat from his brow. He calmed his breathing and slid down a sharp incline into a deep pit. It was filled with rubble, shattered pieces of jagged metal and stone. Cloud caught himself on a beam and hauled himself up the other side, dragging his sword with him. He started to circle back round, intending to lose his enemies in the scrap.   
  
It seemed to work and by the time he found his way back into Edge his pursuers had given up. He found a new building and ducked into the shadows of an alley. Once hidden he slid to the floor, gasping in a deep lungful of air. His sword slipped from his hand and he dropped his head, taking a moment to rest.   
  
Something soft touched his face. At first he thought it was his own hair, he brushed it away and opened his eyes. Before him, lying in the dirt, was a single black feather. Cloud's hands clenched into fists. His breath caught in his throat as he looked up and down the alley. There was nothing but shadows. Heart hammering much faster than it had when he'd been chased, Cloud reached out and plucked the feather from the ground. It crumbled to dust in his fingers, as if it had never even been there.  
  
Finally he dragged himself to his feet and slipped away, back to the bar.  
  
XXX  
  
Tifa paced. Every time she heard a creak she would find herself looking up at the door in hope. She had closed the bar early due to a lack of patrons, with every death more and more people stopped coming. Her lack of business was a small concern though. Cloud had been withdrawing again, she watched his eyes turn inwards and his body language close off. She knew the signs, he'd done it before he'd run off to the church. She couldn't lose him again. She wouldn't.   
  
It was one am when the door finally opened and Cloud stepped into the bar. His head was down and he was dragging his feet with exhaustion. He pulled his blade behind him as he made his way to the bar and started past it. Tifa unfroze and turned, reaching out to grab his wrist. Cloud yanked himself free and turned on her, his eyes glowing faintly in the gloom. His face was blank, empty. She shivered and clutched her hands to her chest. “C-Cloud?” She whispered. She watched him blink, as if he didn't recognise her before suddenly life returned to his eyes.  
  
“Tifa?” He croaked, frowning and looking around in surprise, “I...” He shook his head, panic flaring briefly in his eyes as he turned back to her, “When did I get home?”   
  
“Just now. Cloud...what happened? You look bad.”  
  
Cloud shook his head, lifting his free hand to touch his temple with a frown, “I was...” He trailed off, “I was being chased. Some men in black...they had weapons and there was a lot of them so I ran. I couldn't lead them back here. I lost them somewhere in old Midgar...and...and then I...”   
  
Tifa stepped forward, seeing his shaking hands and took them in her own. Slowly she guided him to a stool and sat him down. His blade was bloodied but for now she simply rested it against the bar and went behind it, dragging out a bottle of something strong. She poured two glasses and sat down beside Cloud, pushing his glass to him. He picked it up almost automatically and downed the contents. Tifa cradled her own and looked down into the liquid. “Cloud...” She began but hesitated, “Are you ok?”  
  
Cloud stared down into his empty glass, “I don't know.” He replied in a quiet voice, hands shaking harder. He bent his head and clutched at it. “I don't _know,_ Tifa.”  
  
XXX  
  
  


A tall, broad shouldered figure stood at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ruins of Midgar. A rusted sword stood upright in the dirt, blade dug deep. He reached out, gloved fingers curling around the hilt as he tore it free of it's prison. Carefully, reverently, he lifted the blade to his forehead. “Is this what you wanted?” He whispered into the wind as it blew dark hair back from his forehead, he opened his eyes again and looked up at the sky. “It's not a good idea, you know? He'll fall apart. This...this is gonna _break_ him.” He didn't receive a reply except a faint warmth in his chest. He sighed and put his hand to his heart, “Well, guess you'd know best.” With that he swung the massive blade around his head a few times before resting it on his shoulder, all as though it weighed nothing. Then he lifted bright blue eyes to the ruined city, a smile curling his lips.  
  
XXX  
  
 _“Tonight we mourn the deaths of three more men. Their bodies were found in and around Edge early this morning, the perpetrators are no closer to being apprehended-”  
  
_ Tseng switched off the radio. He turned to see Rufus standing at the window and watching the world below, he could see the presidents frown in his reflection. “Reno and Rude haven't found anything of note, sir.” He said, watching Rufus push hair from his eyes with one quick movement, he dropped his hand back at his side. “Elena says that she's got a list of possible suspects but it's...long. It's going to take a while to go through and eliminate people who don't fit the profile.”  
  
“As expected. Whoever he is, he's too clever to be caught so easily.”  
  
“Commissioner Tuesti has yet to return our messages but he's been kept rather busy with these murders as well. I'm sure when he-”  
  
“Tseng?”  
  
“Sir?”  
  
“We need to take some kind of action. The public need to see us at least trying to do something. Contact Tuesti again, if we combine our forces we can do a lot more than we can alone.”  
  
Tseng bowed his head in acknowledgement, “Of course sir, I'll get on it right away.”  
  
“What about Cloud?”  
  
“He's done nothing unusual so far but Tifa's closed the bar. We assume he's having as much trouble as we are.”  
  
Rufus sighed, head shaking, “How many have we lost now?”  
  
“Two more this morning. A secretary and a member of the PR department, both of their families have been contacted.”  
  
“Give them appropriate compensation. It's the least we can do.”  
  
“As you wish, sir.” Tseng bowed once again and then left silently. Rufus gazed out over his kingdom, a ruin of what it once was and pressed his fist to the glass.  
  
XXX  
  
"This is the time, people! The time to rise up and fight! To defend our own, to defend our children and families! Help me, my friends, my brothers and sisters! Help me destroy the monsters once and for all! Give me your strength and I shall lend you mine. Together we can reclaim our world, together we can rebuild it and erase Shinra's touch once and for all!"

The man on the people's screens wore a balaclava, it revealed only his bright brown eyes and some pale skin. His videos showed explosions, images from the war in Wutai, it showed evidence of horrible experiments and men with glowing eyes. It showed a blond man, stood on the top of a building, a sword too large for any normal person to wield gripped lightly in one fist. He stood and gazed upwards into the sky, a light rain was falling on his upturned face. Another image showed a man with long silver hair, his sword seven foot long, held across his body and a fierce expression on his face as he stared down a fully grown Behemoth. Images of men with wings, men who had long been forgotten by the majority of Midgar's populace. It showed the old reactors, now falling into disrepair, a stark reminder of what had once been. It showed images of the slums, starving children, eyes wide with fear. It showed meteor, the terror still lingering even so many years after.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud dreamed. He dreamed he was trapped against a solid surface, the scent of decaying paper surrounding him. Dust and damp clogging his nostrils. He couldn't breathe. There was a hand around his throat, leather creaking as it tightened and cut off his air ways. Silken hair brushed his cheek, lips caressing his ear as a deep voice whispered, “ _Sleep. Dream sweet dreams, Cloud. Our reunion is coming._ ”  
  
Cloud's eyes snapped open, he gasped and bolted upright. He blinked, bleary eyesight seeing nothing but his dark bedroom; blinds drawn tightly closed against the early morning. Sweat slid down his throat and he lifted a hand to it, shaking as his fingers dug into the places that still ached even while he was awake. He stared down at his sheets, trembling hands falling into his lap. He shivered as a chill breeze slipped into the room, causing the hair on the nape of his neck to stand on end like the memory of a kiss.  
  
XXX  
  
A week passed by slowly. Tifa reopened the bar for the few braver patrons, she could almost taste the fear that lingered as they sat in quiet corners and drank. She served everyone with a smile, reassuring them whenever they mentioned the rising deaths in and around Edge. Cloud continued to deliver packages, against her better judgement but he was strong and was more than capable of looking after himself so she forced herself not to think about it. The radio informed them of riots in Junon, gangs of youths stalking the streets of Kalm. The news casters voice was a low rumble of despair in the background as Tifa wiped down her bar with a small frown. She looked up as she swept some crumbs off into her hand and put them in the bin under the counter, someone caught her eye. A tall, broad man she had never seen before. He wore a cap pulled down low over his eyes, dressed in a plain black shirt and jeans he seemed as innocuous as any other customer but something pinged in her mind. Some form of vague recognition. She pursed her lips and turned away, feeling the man's eyes on her back as she rearranged the bottles behind the bar.   
  
The door tinkled and Tifa once again hitched her most polite smile on her face, “Hi, welcome to Seventh Heaven, what can I get you?” She turned and saw someone who made her heart swell. “Reeve!” She grinned, a genuine smile for once. Reeve returned the expression as he took a stool close by, “Or is it Commissioner now?”  
  
“Among friends? Just plain old Reeve,” Reeve answered with a slight laugh, “Is Cloud around?”  
  
Tifa's face fell a little and she sighed, “No. He's...busy a lot lately. I don't know when he'll be home.”  
  
“That's a shame. I was hoping we could talk.” Reeve ran a distracted hand through his hair and shook his head. The lines on his face had deepened considerably since Tifa has last seen him, he now had grey flecked through his beard. “How have you been, Tifa?” Reeve asked, genuine concern in his warm eyes.  
  
“About as well as anyone else in this town,” She sighed, “We've had to keep the kids indoors, they hate it but...I can't imagine what they'd do if...” She trailed off, “Cloud's already been attacked several times now, luckily he's been able to lose them before they find out where he lives but really, I'm worried it's only a matter of time before they find us. I'm...scared for them. The kids. Barett's coming home soon, extra protection will help.”  
  
Reeve lowered his head, staring down at his hands as they rested on the bar, “I've been contacted by Rufus Shinra,” He said in a low voice, “He wants to help the WRO and he wants our help in turn.”  
  
“Shinra?” Tifa blinked a moment, “What are you going to do?”  
  
“What can we do except accept any and all help? We're floundering, our search for whoever this man is who's inciting so much hatred just keeps hitting dead ends. If we have access to whatever information the Turks have gathered then I'm sure we'll catch him all the faster.”  
  
Tifa sighed in frustration, tossing aside her damp rag and reaching behind the bar. She pulled out a bottle and set it down, “Would you like a drink, Commissioner? It's on the house.”  
  
Reeve smiled, “Yes, I think I might. Just one though.”  
  
After a while the man watching Tifa rose and left. She let out a sigh of relief and continued making small talk with Reeve until the door opened again. Cloud entered, boots thudding on the wooden floor boards as he crossed the room. “Cloud! Welcome home.” She offered him a smile but it fell a little when Cloud looked up at her. He looked dazed, the sword at his back was spotted with blood. His woollen top was soaked in dark liquid. His hair was plastered to the side of his face, stained red. “Cloud!”   
  
Reeve turned, eyes widening. He jumped to his feet and moved forward, “Cloud? What...what is this?”  
  
Cloud looked down at himself, blinking, “It's...not mine.” He muttered, shaking his head. “They cornered me again. A whole bunch of them and I...” He winced, one hand going to his head briefly, “I was fighting them off but...but there was a group of kids nearby. They wouldn't _move_. The men after me they...they gunned them down. Just...right there in the street!”  
  
Tifa's hands rose to her mouth in horror, eyes wide, “Oh...Cloud...”  
  
“The kids, they were from one of the orphanages for those who got the stigma.” Cloud shivered, wide eyed, staring over Tifa's head at something only he could see. “Where's Denzel?” He asked suddenly, pushing past Reeve who watched him go with sadness in his expression.   
  
“He's upstairs. Cloud, he's fine. He's safe.”  
  
Cloud nodded jerkily, “I...I wanna...go take a shower.” He mumbled, stalking past the bar and heading upstairs.  
  
“Barett's on his way. He'll be here soon. The more of us there are, the better we can protect the children.” Tifa insisted, following Cloud but halting at the foot of the stairs. He hesitated there, swaying a little, one hand clenching on the banister so hard it started to splinter.  
  
“Contact Cid.” Cloud muttered, “We need to get them away...somewhere safe.”  
  
“Wutai is the only place now that hasn't seen any of these attacks. Godo's kept anyone even remotely related to Shinra off his shores, so there's no need for these men to go there.” Reeve said, “We can get Cid to take the children there...Cloud, I'm so sorry.”  
  
Cloud nodded his thanks and continued up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note; I said before that this fic was already published a while ago. I am using a lot of stuff from that, just edited a little as well as adding stuff. So that's why I'm seemingly churning out chapters. :)

Reno was propping up a wall by a small Item shop near Seventh Heaven. He had seen Reeve enter. He sighed, bored already when a man left the bar. He was tall, broad shoulders causing his t-shirt to strain around the arms. Reno froze as the man walked past, his cap pulled low enough to hide half his face. Reno's eyes caught on his jaw. His body stiffened as he saw a scar there, shaped like a cross. The man lifted his head, giving Reno a glimpse of glowing eyes before he passed by and continued on his way down the street.  
  
“Reno?”  
  
Rude grabbed Reno's shoulder, following his partners gaze, “Who is that?”  
  
Reno opened his mouth and then closed it again several times before finally he sucked in a breath, “Yo...I thought I just saw a ghost.”  
  
Rude followed Reno's gaze and saw the man disappear around a corner, “He does seem kinda familiar.” He mused.  
  
Reno reached into his pocket and dug out his phone, he flipped it open and hit speed dial. He waited, eyes fixed on the spot the man had disappeared. “Tseng...I just saw-” He hesitated, glancing at Rude who watched him in confusion, “Uh...never mind.” He shook his head, running a hand down the side of his face, “Just saw Tuesti go see Cloud and Tifa, what do you want us to do?” Reno paused, turning back to the bar as Tseng gave him his orders. “Yes sir, we'll bring him in.” He snapped the phone shut and glanced at Rude. “Just my imagination, partner.”  
  
Rude shrugged and together they moved towards the bar.   
  
XXX  
  
Cloud leaned against the tiled wall, staring down at his bare feet. He curled his toes as warm water poured over his head and ran down his back. He watched it turn pink, swirling the drain before disappearing. He had a few scratches that were caused by his mad dash through the large group of men to attempt to rescue the children. He shut his eyes, squeezing them tightly as his hands fisted at his sides. He pressed the back of his head back against the tile, hard enough to hurt and opened his mouth on a choked gasp. Their screams were still ringing through his head even as he wiped the water away with shaking hands.   
  
He opened his eyes and saw his reflection in the glass door of the shower, he stared at himself a moment. His blue eyes were dulled with fatigue, his hair plastered to his face and neck by water. It spilled down his chest, running over well-honed muscles to finally reach the drain at his feet. He saw a shadow move outside, a blurry figure standing directly opposite. Cloud jerked back, wide awake all of a sudden. He blinked and the shadow was gone.   
  
When Cloud came back down stairs it was to find two more people had joined Tifa and Reeve. Cloud walked behind the bar and helped himself to a drink, he poured a glass out, ignoring Tifa's pointed look and downed it. He did it twice more before finally looking to the two Turks. “What does Rufus want?” He asked.  
  
Reno arched an eyebrow and looked at the empty glass on the counter, “And here I thought _I_ had a drinkin' problem,”   
  
“We've come across some information you and the Commissioner might be interested in.” Rude answered, “He wants to offer the hand of friendship.”  
  
Cloud snorted and poured himself another glass, “Oh yeah? Because we've always worked so well together.” He said, voice dripping sarcasm.   
  
Reno smirked, leaning against the bar, “I'm likin' you more and more every day, Cloud.”  
  
Rude shot him an unimpressed look before fixing his gaze on Cloud again, “This threat affects all of us, you know that.” He insisted gently, “We could use any help we can get.”  
  
Cloud hesitated, looking down at his glass. He pressed his hand to his chest, trying to ease the dull ache he had there lately. Then he sighed, closing his eyes. “Fine. I'll go see what Rufus wants.”  
  
“Cloud...” Tifa said quietly, putting a hand on his arm.  
  
Cloud shrugged her off, stepping back and turning his back on her. He grabbed his sword, now wiped clean of the blood and slid it through the straps on his back. “Let's go before I change my mind.”

XXX  
  
" _All over the world reports are coming in about attacks from these men calling themselves 'Humanities Saviours'. We've seen large gangs of men killing anyone with tainted genes, it's carnage-._ "

Rufus switched off the radio and tipped his head back, he closed his eyes and sighed heavily. "Sir?" Tseng's calm voice reached him from where he was stood by Rufus' side.

"I'm fine, Tseng." Rufus opened his eyes and gazed out of his window over Edge. "I've come to the conclusion that I may need to take some action. We must show these men that we don't fear them, if I continue to hide away like this people are more likely to start going over to their side. We can't have any more attacks, these are innocent people who are dying."

"I know sir but the risk to your life is too great." Tseng replied, shuffling some papers and stacking them neatly in Rufus' OUT tray.

"What do you want me to do, Tseng? I can't fight this enemy by hiding. The populace don't need weakness. Even Reeve, who has the battle experience of a child, is standing up and speaking out, isn't it time I did the same?" He turned and saw Tseng regarding him warily.

"I just-"

"I know. You have 'a bad feeling' but what else is to be done? I need you on my side, Tseng. We need to do something now before this escalates."

Tseng opened his mouth to reply but there was a buzz on the intercom and Rufus pressed the button on the small machine. "Yes?"

"Sir, there's a Cloud Strife here to see you?"

"Ah, Send him up." Rufus swung his seat around and watched the door as it was opened by Reno.

"Got him, boss." Reno grinned and stepped aside to allow Cloud in, Cloud's eyes took in the office and noted every available escape route. The walls were grey, the room stark and the desk made of metal and dark wood. There was a large picture window behind Rufus' desk, the blind drawn up. The ceiling tiles were immaculate indicating the new build. Only then did he look at Rufus after glancing briefly at Tseng who now stood at Rufus' shoulder with his hands clasped behind his back.

"Welcome, Cloud. Would you like some refreshment?" Rufus offered, waving a hand at the coffee machine.

"No. What do you want?"

"Straight to business then I see." Rufus smiled and leaned forward on his desk. "Very well, I asked you here to discuss this current situation. Now, my Turks have managed to procure some very lucrative information about the men behind these attacks." He pushed a thick file towards Cloud who glanced at it but didn't touch it. "It appears that their leader had the rather unfortunate position of living in Sector Seven when the plate fell." He glanced at Reno who lowered his eyes with a frown. "Because of this he has a rather intense hatred for ShinRa and all that comes with it. After surviving the attack on Sector Seven he then moved his family to Sector Six, unfortunately when weapon attacked..." Rufus trailed off, frowning at the file. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "When weapon attacked the Shinra building the rubble crushed his house. After that his wife contracted geostigma and died as a result."

"If he hates Shinra so much why is he attacking innocent people? How in hell did he get hold of Deepground technology?!" Cloud demanded, slamming his hands down onto the presidents desk and glaring furiously at him. "Why are my family targets?!"

"Because of you." Rufus said smoothly, leaning back in his chair to meet Cloud's furious eyes. "Because your face has been in and out of the media for a long time, Cloud. You are a prominent figure in every attack, people have seen you fight. Everyone witnessed your battle with Sephiroth during the Geostigma crisis, everyone saw you during the Deepground trouble. You are equally the focus for their hatred, as much as I am."

Cloud pulled back and ran a hand through his hair. "Then I have to get them away." He muttered to himself, gazing distractedly out of the window. "I have to get them somewhere safe."

"Your family? There's nowhere safe now, Cloud. These attacks are happening the world over, people have been watching this man's videos for months now. Ex-SOLDIER's have been dying in the streets of Edge as well as Junon and Costa Del Sol. It's so widespread I doubt anywhere would be safe."

Cloud hesitated, blinking at the wall before he looked at Rufus. "What about Wutai? There's not going to be any SOLDIER's there...not after what Shinra did to their country."

Rufus gazed at Cloud appraisingly for a moment before nodding slowly. "I suppose it would be as safe a place as any, and don't you have a friend over there?"

"Yeah. Yuffie's Godo's daughter...she'll make sure they're safe."

"An excellent idea but what will you do when they're gone?" Rufus eyed Cloud who turned to him and smiled coldly.

"I'll fight. After all, it's what I do best." He adjusted his sword in it's holster. "I have no intention of just rolling over, Rufus. I'm not going to let them kill me."

Rufus smirked. "Spoken like a true SOLDIER." He said, pleased. "I would like to offer my services. I suspect that we could become allies."

Cloud looked at the man and nodded sharply. "Allies...but not friends."

Rufus laughed coldly. "No. Never friends, Cloud." He agreed.  
  
“The Commissioner's waiting downstairs, sir.” Reno said, breaking the low simmering tension. “He's with Rude.”  
  
“If our meeting has concluded then send him up,” Rufus looked to Cloud who nodded, “Take the file. It's always best to know your enemy.” Rufus waved a hand at the papers and Cloud hesitantly reached for them.  
  
Once Cloud had left and they were waiting for Reeve Tseng's phone pinged. He reached into his pocket and withdrew it, his brows drew into a small frown as he realised he didn't recognise the number. He shared a glance with Reno who watched him with some confusion before he answered it, “Who is this?” He demanded and then froze. His eyes widened as he stared across the room. “Veld?” Reno twitched, eyes widening as he met Tseng's gaze. Tseng's lips curled into a small smile, “It's been a while,”  
  
XXX  
  
Argot walked down the street, he paused to gaze out over the great expanse of the sea and sighed heavily. The attacks on Mako-enchanced people were becoming too frequent. He himself had been forced to defend himself against masked gangs twice already, it was high time he left Costa Del Sol. He ran a hand through his ruffled red hair and swore under his breath, his ribs ached from the beating he had received at his attackers hands and, although he had fought them off, he had ended up losing a good friend. He remembered her blood staining his hands as he had tried to stem the bleeding from her many wounds, however, by the time he had got her to the hospital she was already dead. Tears filled his eyes but he refused to allow them to spill, he cursed again and wiped them away, turning back to the sandy, cobbled street ahead and starting off again. He kept one hand on the sword in his belt but as he drew closer to the exit of the town-a large bridge-he saw a group of men draw into a line to block his escape. He drew his weapon but his broken ribs flared up, sending agony down his side and causing him to wince. He growled in fury, seeing red for the first time in years. These men had killed his best friend, they had hunted him down, beaten him and then murdered her right before his eyes. He let out a guttural roar and charged.

He killed two men before they even had a chance to move, however, their greater numbers soon overwhelmed him and he was disarmed by a scrawny man. His face was covered by a mask depicting a Wutaiian warrior, Argot reached out and grabbed the mask as he struggled to hold him off and keep the knife he was wielding from his vulnerable belly. He tore it from the man's face to reveal it and spat into his eye. The man cried out and jerked backwards, scrubbing at his eyes as the others closed the gap around Argot. He was down before he knew it, a sharp kick to the back of his knees sent him sprawling to the floor, he choked on sand and grit, eyes watering from where one man stood on his grasping fingers. In that moment, as someone raised a knife, he knew he was going to die. He closed his eyes, hoping that he would have the chance to meet his friend in the lifestream but as the knife descended there was a sharp clang of metal against metal and the attackers all spun around. Argot opened his eyes, breathing heavily as they focussed on a small figure in black walking calmly towards them.

"What? It's just a woman!"

"Hey, get out of here before you get hurt."

The girl came into focus and Argot frowned, recognition flooding his brain. "Turk?!" He gasped, eyes widening as the girl moved into the light and folded her arms across her chest. She smirked, brown hair curling to her shoulders as she leaned forward a little.

"Ex-Turk Mr. Argot." She smiled. "I thought you'd need some back-up."

"Turk?! Get her! ShinRa bitch!"

The girl sighed, shaking her head at the men. "Do you even have ears? I said 'ex'. I don't work for ShinRa anymore...well...not officially anyway." She walked towards the shell-shocked men and yanked a huge Shuriken out of the ground. "My name's Cissnei. Commander Argot, Second Class. I've come to help you." She held out a gloved hand and smiled sweetly.  
  
XXX  
  
Kunsel dived around a corner, nursing a twisted ankle and quickly wiping the blood from his eyes that ran from a nasty cut on his forehead. He crouched, panting and trying to regain his breath. He had lost his cap somewhere along the way and his brown hair was grabbed by the strong winds blowing in from the sea. He had escaped to Junon in the hopes that these attacks would stop but he had failed to understand just how widely spread they really were, any chance he had of taking a transport to Wutai was scuppered when he was spotted and recognised on the docks. He cursed to himself, drawing both his knives, the curved blades familiar in his hands as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "Zack...Wish you were here man. Could really use some damned back-up." He whispered to his long-dead best friend. He opened his eyes and made to move but a hand grabbed his jacket. He tore himself free and spun around, bringing his knives to his attackers throat in a second. He froze when he saw who it was. "Shit!" He fell backwards with wide eyes and open mouth, his heart beat rapidly in his chest and lungs. "You're fuckin' dead!" He exclaimed.

The man crouched at Kunsel's side shook his head and laughed softly. "Obviously not dead."

"All the reports said-"

The man lifted a finger and tapped the side of his nose, he winked and grinned maliciously. "Reports don't always mean fuck all. I was retired, actually." He reached inside his dark suit jacket and withdrew three small metal balls, Kunsel watched them roll between his fingers expertly. "Some retirement that turned out to be, huh?" He laughed and rolled the balls out from behind their cover of old shipping crates. "Stay down, you know the drill."

Kunsel swallowed and threw himself flat on the ground, covering his head with both arms. The Turk at his side rose and watched as the balls rolled to the feet of Kunsel's pursuers, he grinned and lit a fat cigar with a silver lighter. As he blew smoke from his lungs he saw the world go white as the explosives detonated. Kunsel screamed over the roar of flames and rattle of rubble falling around them. The legendary Turk laughed like he was insane, cigar clenched between his teeth.  
  
XXX  
  
Tifa waited for Cloud to return. She tried to busy herself with tidying up the bar but there wasn't enough for her to do. Marlene and Denzel were busy playing upstairs, their voices drifting through the floorboards. She heard Marlene scream and then giggle as there was a thud, she looked up and smiled, shaking her head. When the bell tinkled above the door she turned, smiling with a greeting on her lips. What she expected was Cloud, not the stranger in the baseball cap who made the hairs on her arms stand on end. “I'm...sorry but the bar's closed right now.” She said, trying to hide her sudden discomfort. She moved so that she was standing between the man and the stairs, “We'll be open later though, please come back then.”  
  
The man seemed hesitant as he looked around the bar, he lifted a hand and rubbed at the back his neck. “This...” His voice sounded familiar, Tifa's hands curled into fists at her sides as the man reached up and slowly removed his hat. “This is gonna be real weird for you but please, don't freak out!” He lifted up both hands, showing he wasn't carrying any weapons and finally Tifa had a good look at his face.   
  
Tifa stumbled back, eyes wide, “No.” She whispered, shaking her head in denial as her face paled, “You're dead! He said...he said he watched you die.”  
  
Zack Fair grinned nervously, “Yeah well, about that...I did actually die. That's true but...but I came back so uh...hi.” He waved his fingers at her, still smiling that broad, friendly smile he'd worn all those years ago in Nibelheim.   
  
Tifa swayed, grabbing at the bar to steady herself, “How?” She managed to ask through the fog of memory. “Why?”  
  
“Magic lifestream stuff?” Zack suggested, shrugging, “Honestly? I'm not sure. All I know is that one minute I'm chilling out in the lifestream and the next I open my eyes and I'm lying on a beach somewhere. I think she had something to do with it though, she knows when Cloud's in trouble and I guess she just wanted to help.”  
  
“She? You mean...” Tifa shook her head, “Aerith?”  
  
Zack nodded, hair bouncing, “Yeah. You know each other, right? That's good. I uh...” He glanced around, looking up when the children made more noise upstairs, “I'm actually here for Cloud. You know where he is?”  
  
“He's not going to like this.” She breathed, finding a stool and sitting down before he legs spilled her to the floor, “People coming back from the dead never usually goes well for him.”   
  
“Yeah I get that.” Zack sighed, “Can I wait for him here? I've got nowhere else to go.”  
  
Tifa managed a short nod, Zack smiled and took a seat nearby.  
  
The sound of the door opening heralded Cloud's arrival. He stepped in through the door with a heavy sigh, “Tifa?” He called lifting his eyes to see her standing by the bar with wide eyes. “What's-” He paused as he finally noticed the other person in the room. His hand went for his sword, he drew it and pointed it at the stranger. It took a few seconds for his appearance to sink in and when it did Cloud felt as if the entire planet under his feet shifted. “What...” He gasped, sword tip swaying. His eyes widened as he took in the shape of the jaw, the curl of dark hair falling over his forehead, those intense blue eyes. Cloud stepped back. He shook his head, “No.” He said shakily, “No.”  
  
“Cloud...” Zack rose, stepping forward. His eyes roved hungrily over Cloud's familiar face, hardly changed since he'd last seen it.  
  
“Stay where you are.” Cloud's voice broke and he gasped in a breath, “Who are you?! What the hell do you want?”  
  
“Cloud...it's me. It's Zack.” Zack pressed a hand to his chest, “Really.”  
  
“No. He's dead. I-I watched him...die.” Cloud moved, pressing the tip of his blade underneath Zack's chin, his eyes narrowed furiously, “Who. Are. You.” He growled, “And why are you wearing his face?!”  
  
“Ok...ok...uh...how about this? It was in Junon, a pretty hot day and...and you were puking your guts up. Your squad was there, trying to help and I...I offered to take you out to dinner, right? I was talking to just you but your squad got all excited. It wiped my wallet clean, man.”  
  
Cloud blinked, the tip of his sword slowly dropping until it hit the floor, he looked at Zack intently. “Z-Zack?” he whispered as if speaking his name aloud would make him disappear.  
  
“It's really me, Cloud.” Zack relaxed, a smile slowly spreading across his face.   
  
  


Cloud moved forward a few steps, his fingers rose, drifting slowly down Zack's face. He traced the scar, followed the line of his jaw and down his neck. Zack let him look and touch, his smile softening. “Zack.” Cloud said it again as if confirming it to himself, “It's...really you.”  
  
“Yup. The one and only.”  
  
Tifa watched something happen to Cloud's face, it softened, eyes slowly brightening as a smile curled his lips. She made herself look away, flushing as if she was witnessing something private.   
  
Cloud stared into Zack's eyes for a long time before he could bring himself to speak again, “How?” He asked finally, hand lingering on Zack's chest.  
  
“I think it was Aerith.” Zack shrugged, “I woke up on some beach somewhere, made my way here...to see you, Cloud.” He lifted his own hand, fingers finding the tufts of yellow hair. He ran his fingers through it, watching it bounce back with a fond, nostalgic smile. “Man, you haven't changed.” He shook his head a little, laughing.  
  
Cloud felt his cheeks burn a little and looked away, “I have. More than you know.” He finally broke the building tension and walked over to the bar. He stopped, as if uncertain what to do with himself. “Uh...” He looked back, eyes brightening, “You wanna...stay?”  
  
“Tifa already gave her permission, right?” Zack shot Tifa a side-long glance and she nodded. “Then it's settled.” Zack put his hands on his hips, “I'm staying for a while!”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reminder that this fic was written AGES ago and all I'm doing is editing. Adding pieces, taking stuff away I didn't like etc. So this is why I'm getting it out so fast. Also listening to the ff7 soundtrack is fun while doing this. I'm giving Cloud and Zack some time to get reacquainted in this chapter, they probably need it lol.

“I'm a Turk, not a goddamn delivery boy, yo.” Reno grumbled as he juggled several cardboard cups of scolding hot coffee. He stepped out of the shop and into the street, glaring at his full hands, a bag of pastries hanging from one wrist as he tried not to spill anything. “No one told me I'd be running fucking errands, should'a paid Strife to do it. At least it's his damn job.” He glanced at his side expectantly and faltered, remembering that Rude was back at the office with Tseng and Rufus. Reno sighed, shaking his head. He was so used to having Rude with him, on the rare occasions they weren't together he forgot. Reno moved away from the door with a put-upon sigh and started making his way down the street back to the new Shinra offices. Reno suspected that Rufus got off on making his Turks play fetch, after all the man had a coffee machine right in his office. Admittedly Reno would agree that it tasted no better than dirty pond water, “It's the principle of the thing, yo. I'm not a fucking golden retriever.” He grumbled, kicking at a crushed can and watching it skitter into the path of an on-coming truck. He watched a few people hurry past, gathered in a tight group for safety. They barely even spared him a glance. Reno sighed and stepped into the road, crossing the street. He reached the alley half a block away from new Shinra HQ and halted. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end as he heard heavy footsteps approach him from behind.   
  
“Well, well, well, looks like we caught ourselves a Shinra mongrel.”  
  
Reno bit back a sigh and turned. As he expected there were at least seven, heavily armed men dressed in black with masks covering all but their eyes. He remained silent and still as the men gathered around him, causing all nearby civilians to scatter like seeds on the wind. They started to circle, the coffee balanced in Reno's hands burned against his skin. One man stepped forward, using a vicious looking knife to tilt Reno's head up, the point dug into his skin. He eyed the man, glaring but kept his mouth shut as he weighed his options. “Oh, this one's pretty. No wonder the president keeps him around.” He chortled, eyes crinkling in an amused smile, “He's so well trained, he can play fetch.” The men laughed as they circled, the man speaking grabbed one of the cups from Reno and sniffed, “Here, lets see what he does for us.” With a laugh he tossed the cup down the street, Reno didn't move.   
  
“Hey man, that was the president's coffee. Hope you're planning on paying for that.”  
  
“Oh he speaks too.” The man ran his blade down Reno's throat to his chest, leaving behind a long red line. His voice dropped to a low purr, “Wonder what you sound like when you're screaming?”   
  
Reno let himself grin and tossed one of the other coffees into the man's face. The last of the coffee went flying into the air as Reno's EMR slid into his hand. He turned it and jabbed it backwards, straight into the groin of one of the men approaching from behind, a quick press of the button and he went down screaming and twitching. An arc of lightning followed as Reno swept his weapon up, slamming it straight into another man's jaw. He thrust a boot into a second man's ankle, sending him down too.   
  
The leader recovered rapidly, cursing and wiping hot coffee out of his eyes. He fixed them on Reno and advanced. “Shinra dog, I'll teach you some manners.” He spat and launched himself at Reno.  
  
Back at the office Tseng finally lifted his eyes from the document he was reading, he frowned over to the clock, “Has anyone heard from Reno?” He asked, looking to Elena and Rude who were pouring over reams of data on screens. Rude grunted and rubbed at his eyes beneath his glasses, he looked to the clock and his frown deepened.  
  
“No but he should be back by now, right?” Elena asked, “Maybe we should go look for him.”  
  
“I'll go.” Rude rose, “Need a break from this anyway.”  
  
Tseng nodded, “Be careful.”  
  
Rude shrugged his shoulders and left their little office. He took the elevator down and left the building, turning left and right. The street was eerily empty, it made his hackles rise. This part of Edge was usually busy, surrounded by shops and markets it should have been bustling with activity. But everything was silent. The shops had closed their doors, barred their windows. Rude turned right, heading towards the coffee shop Reno was supposed to get their drinks from. He paused when his boot hit a crumpled paper cup and splashed in a puddle of brown liquid. Rude's hands tightened into fists, he glanced around and saw a battered bag lying forlornly in the gutter. “Reno.” Rude whispered, moving forward, careful where he trod. He peered down an alley and saw a crumpled heap by a pile of trash. The splash of red hair made Rude run forward, he crouched and grabbed his partner by the shoulder in one shaking hand, “Reno!” He pulled him over onto his back, Reno's brows drew down into a sharp frown and he groaned thickly. Rude let out a low breath, pushing aside the sudden surge of dread as he pushed hair from Reno's eyes. “Hey, partner,” He watched Reno's eyes flicker open, dazed as they flicked around before settling on Rude's face.  
  
“Hey, Rude...” Reno croaked, managing a shaky grin, “Ya found me.”  
  
“Course I did,” Rude let his knuckles brush Reno's bruised cheek, “What happened?”  
  
“Got jumped.” Reno groaned as he tried to sit up, “Took out three of 'em but the last of them...well...” He indicated his torn shirt, sagging open to reveal a chest littered with deliberate cuts. His left arm was the worst injury by far, Rude could see how it was twisted into a weird angle. “Broke my arm, yo.” Reno muttered dazedly, his eyes glazing over as he began to shiver.  
  
“C'mon, get up. Let's get you back.” Rude slid an arm underneath Reno's shoulder and hauled him to his feet. “Stay with me, partner...don't close your eyes.”  
  
Reno's feet dragged but he managed to hold on until they got back to the office. When Rude finally dragged Reno's increasingly dead weight into the office Tseng jumped to his feet, he skirted his desk as Rude lay Reno down onto the sofa in the corner. Rude crouched by Reno's side and brushed hair from his face, fingers surprisingly gentle. “What happened?” Tseng asked.  
  
“He got jumped on his way back here,” Rude replied tightly, glancing up at his boss, “They cut him up pretty good but Reno left a few corpses behind. They broke his arm too.”  
  
“From now on none of us will go anywhere alone,” Tseng concluded, watching Reno's chest rise and fall unsteadily, “I'll go get a doctor.” He slid from the room and took a second to push back the sudden surge of anger that rose within him. He was as much to blame for Reno's state as his attackers but Tseng had enough guilt to carry so he shoved it aside and took a breath. Veld couldn't arrive soon enough.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud watched Tifa hang up the phone, she turned to him with a smile, “Cid's on his way with the Shera. He said he's got to pick up some people on the way but he'll be here in a few days.”  
  
Cloud's shoulders visibly slumped, “Thanks,” He said, looking down into his drink as he curled his hands around the glass, “That's one less thing to worry about.”  
  
“I caught some stuff on the radio, they said there's been attacks?” Zack asked, glancing from Tifa to Cloud and back again. “Something about the United Front?”  
  
“They want to wipe out anyone who had anything to do with Shinra,” Cloud shifted, leather creaking as he frowned out the nearby window. “Ex-SOLDIER's, military...anyone. They got their hands on some tech from an old Shinra lab called Deepground, it can scan you and tells them whether you've got Jenova cells inside you...although they don't know that that's what they're picking up.”  
  
Zack frowned, running a hand over his jaw as he stared down at the table, “So...what's the plan, Cloud?”  
  
“Get the kids out.” Cloud shrugged, “We're sending them to Wutai, it's the only safe place left now. Denzel...he got the stigma, if they find him they'll kill him.”  
  
Zack looked at Cloud, noting how tired he looked, “You ok?” He asked, leaning forward across the table, resisting the urge to reach out and take his hand. Cloud's fingers twitched and he looked away, staring at something outside. Zack watched him, head tilted and saw Cloud frown. His lips parted as he followed something with his eyes. Zack glanced out the window, following his gaze. “Hey, buddy? You ok?” He muttered, frowning. “Cloud...there's...” He cut himself off, lips parting. He watched as several large black feathers shimmered into being right before his eyes. They drifted on the breeze, back and forth as they fell lazily down to the pavement. Zack took a breath, “How long?”  
  
Cloud looked at him, eyes wide and as blue as the summer sky, “You can see...?”  
  
Zack nodded slowly, “How long've you been seeing them...seeing _him_?” He glanced over to where Tifa was now with the children, reading them a story from a large book.   
  
“Since this started...maybe...maybe before. I...” Cloud hunched in on himself, lowering his head, “Is he back too?” He breathed, voice hesitant, scared. “I beat him twice...I can't...not again. I thought it was over.”  
  
Zack sighed, leaning back in his seat and finishing his drink, “I don't know, Cloud...but I wonder if this time'll be different.” He met Cloud's eyes, a smile curling the corner of his mouth, “When something comes back from the dead, it messes with the natural order. It...opens a gateway for...other things.” He looked back out the window and watched the people pass by, oblivious. The green in his eyes became more pronounced as he looked back at Cloud, still smiling that strange smile somewhere between happiness and bitterness, “I think a couple things came through with me.”  
  
Cloud shook his head, looking down so hair covered his face, “I'm never gonna be rid of him, Zack.”  
  
“Yeah, nightmares have a tendency to hang around.”   
  
XXX  
  
Reno leaned against the railings of the fire escape that travelled down the side of HQ. His arm was now firmly in a cast, he was bandaged and on a cocktail of pain meds. He stared down the drop to the ground below, hair hanging over his shoulder and hands limp. He heard the fire escape door open behind him but didn't need to turn to know who it was. He felt Rude loom up behind him, the only person on the planet he allowed this close as hands curled around his hips. Reno sighed and closed his eyes.  
  
“You ok, partner?” Rude muttered, thumb rubbing a slither of bare skin beneath Reno's shirt. Reno nodded.  
  
“Guess so,” He muttered, turning to peer at Rude over his shoulder, “I'm gonna be fine, yo. Stop worrying.”  
  
“When I saw you in that alley I-”  
  
“Stop. You know it doesn't do any good.” Reno smiled, “I'm alive, anythin' else doesn't matter.”  
  
Rude returned the smile and pulled him closer, wrapping his arms around Reno's middle, “Gave me a scare, partner. Don't do it again.”  
  
Reno laughed, “Don't plan on it, yo.” He curled his fingers around Rude's hands and looked up past the buildings to the sky, “Where's the boss sending you?” He asked.  
  
“Some backwater fishing town.” Rude sighed against Reno's neck, “You?”  
  
“Corel.” Reno smiled, turning his head as Rude pressed their lips together briefly, “We'll see each other soon, right?”  
  
“Right.” Rude slid his hand up into Reno's hair, tangling his fingers in it and tilted his head for a better angle. He smiled and deepened the kiss.  
  
  
XXX  
  
The early morning sun rose above the mountains to bathe Corel in light. The new town was slowly being rebuilt, it's citizens working diligently to regain what they had lost at Shinra's hands. A woman stood amongst the early risers, her long black hair tied back from her sun-kissed face and her dark eyes surveying the workers. She looked up at the road and spotted a familiar figure, the wind picked up and blew the scent of fire smoke and dust into her lungs. She took a breath and lifted a gloved hand, she wiped sweat from her brow, already feeling the heat of the coming day. She turned to a woman in a head scarf and smiled at her. "Can you watch the food? There's someone I need to see." She asked, the woman patted her cheek and nodded. She turned back to the figure stood on the low hill and started towards them, her smile widening the closer she got. The wind rose again, lifting the figures pony tail off of his shoulder and blowing red hair into his slitted eyes as he narrowed them against the dust. She broke into a run and finally reached him.

"Yo, Judet." Reno grinned when she reached him and held up his hand, in it was a familiar card. "Got something that belongs to you."

The woman looked down at her old ShinRa ID and frowned as she looked up at Reno. "What is this about?"

"We're recalling all of you. You heard the news, right?"

"Yeah, who hasn't?"

"Then you know that we're in trouble." He lifted his left arm and she spotted a cast for the first time, her eyes widened momentarily before she took the ID from him. "I'm sorry for havin' to do this, yo."

She shook her head. "I understand, I'll go and get Atashi."

"I'll be waitin' in the chopper, hurry." Reno turned and started off back down the path, Judet nodded.  
  
XXX  
  
Emma downed a shot of burning alcohol, listening to the men around her laughing uproariously. She slammed her shot glass back down and gasped, blinking tears from her eyes as the home-brew stung them. "Shit!" She gasped, grinning broadly around at the hardened men sitting around her. "Beat that fuckers!" She declared proudly. The bar was overcrowded and brimming with muscled, hard men who spent their lives working on the docks. Smoke hung low over their heads and the place reeked of sweat, booze and fish.

"She just broke Gary's fucking wrist!" One man gasped.

"C'mon man, she's a girl! Look at her, she's tiny! We can beat her."

Emma grinned, eyeing the money on the table that was waiting for her victory over these muscle bound dock workers. The town she was in was run down, filthy and full of crime but it was a place she enjoyed none the less. She slammed her elbow on the table and held up her hand, her shirt sleeve was rolled to her elbow and the back of it was soaked with sweat. She grinned, revealing white teeth and waited for someone to take her up on her challenge. Her arm bulged with muscle, the men eyed her warily before a huge man standing at the back pushed his way forward and sat down in the seat opposite. Emma barely spared him a glance as gloved fingers curled around hers and started to push. She gasped, this man was stronger than all the others. Her blue eyes rose to find herself staring into a familiar face, the man grinned at her and she strained harder, trying to push his hand to the table. She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing. "...It had to be...you..." She grunted, putting all her strength into the arm wrestle.

"Couldn't pass up the challenge." Rude replied, lips twitching into a familiar smirk.

"Fuck you." Emma hissed, sweat breaking out on her forehead and forcing her to push wet hair from her face. "How's...Elena....?" She gasped.

"Fine. She's got her sisters spunk." Rude grunted, his muscles bulging and pressing against his uniform as he struggled against Emma's arm.

"Why're you here?" Emma winced as she felt her wrist strain, she bared her teeth in a snarl and used the last reserves of her strength to try to force Rude's hand down. His smile widened as he overpowered her, her hand smacking against the table. She laughed, lifting her arms above her head in a stretch before grabbing another shot of whiskey and downing it. "Still the same old Rude, strongest of the Turks." She grinned, kicking back in her chair and slamming her booted feet on the table. She leaned back and eyed her old friend. "Well?"

"There's trouble in Edge." Rude said, shaking his wrist. "We're gathering everyone back up."

Emma raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I guess this has something to do with those terrorists?"

"Yeah. We need you, Emma."

"Veld?"

"He'll be there."

Emma nodded, finishing her last shot and standing. "Sorry guys, I've gotta run. See you around, yeah?"

The men glared at her and grumbled irritably as she scraped up her winnings and followed Rude out the door.

XXX  
  
Balto ran through the undergrowth, his sword clutched tightly in one hand. He was bent low, hiding in the bush as he heard his pursuers coming after him. He grit his teeth and slid down a slight incline, mud spattered his worn clothes as he rolled and came to a halt in a dell, he lay still, his sword by his side and waited. The sound of snapping twigs, cursing and angry mutters reached his ears and his face twisted in disgust. These men were pathetic, child-traffickers from Costa Del Sol who had no idea what stealth meant. He had just rescued a ship load of kids who were going to be taken to Edge and sold into prostitution, now they had been returned to their families but the gang who had kidnapped them were hunting him. He took a slow breath as the sounds of the men faded away and rose slowly to his knees, he paused again, head cocked to one side as he listened intently. Hearing no other sounds he crept out of his hiding place, his hand fell into something wet and he lifted it to his face. It was crimson. He looked up to find a hand extended to him, slowly his eyes rose to find himself looking up into a familiar face. Tseng offered him a smile and Balto looked to see two bodies lying not far off, each one with a neat cut in their throats. Balto took Tseng's hand and let himself be hauled to his feet, he swayed with exhaustion. "It's been a long time, Balto." Tseng said in his soft voice.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Balto asked, glancing back at the men.

Tseng followed his gaze with his own and shrugged. "Doing you a favour it would seem. If you'd emerged and I hadn't been here you'd find yourself in quite the predicament."

"I could've taken them."

"Of course." Tseng agreed without sarcasm, it was true, Balto would have been able to fend off two measly gang members. "However, I would prefer it if you weren't injured."

Balto stiffened. "You wouldn't be blowing our cover like this for nothing."

Tseng's face turned serious. "No. I have orders to bring you back in, we're going to need everyone on board for this."

"Is it about the United Front?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow, obviously impressed. "Yes."

"I hear stuff, even way out here in the back end of nowhere." Balto lifted an arm and wiped sweat from his brow, he was filthy from living rough for weeks on end. His movement smeared blood over the horrible scar covering his cheek. "Let's go. I need a shower."

"No time, the president expects us asap. There's a helicopter waiting."

"Fuck." Balto rolled his shoulders and sheathed his blade. "Fine. Let's move out."  
  
XXX  
  
The next morning Cloud and Zack took a ride to old Midgar. Aerith's old church remained as it always had, a little more worn, a little more cobwebbed but still standing tall above the rubble. Cloud slid from his bike, followed by Zack. “Hey, where'd you get that bike? It's cool.”  
  
Cloud shrugged, dipping his head to hide his proud smile, “It's nothing. A side project, I guess.”  
  
Zack laughed, turning to look up at the church, “Man, this place has seen some tough times, huh? Still it...it looks just the same.”  
  
Cloud followed his gaze, “Yeah.” He said and started off towards the large double doors. He glanced back at Zack who followed. “I'm never gonna get used to you in civis.” He said, sweeping Zack with his eyes, “It's weird.”  
  
“Yeah well, I had to find something. I woke up totally butt naked. Let me tell you that's not a good idea when your lying on a beach with monsters closing in. Unarmed and pants-less.” He shook his head with a grimace, “Bad times,” Cloud laughed, a soft little sound that made warmth spread through Zack's chest. He reached out, ruffling Cloud's hair revelling in the softness. Cloud brushed him away and started up the cracked steps, looking back over his shoulder and high collar with a small smile. Together they entered and Zack looked around. He saw the pool, a vague memory like a dream came back to him. He had been stood at that very spot, looking back at the pool and Cloud surrounded by splashing children. He sighed, eyes moving to the broken roof. A few lone flowers lingered, their scent reminding him of a pair of vivid, grass green eyes and a pink ribbon.   
  
Cloud walked to the edge of the pool and looked down into the water, “I feel...closer to her here.”  
  
“Hm,” Zack agreed, moving to his side and peering at his own reflection. His eyes had changed, the green of the lifestream had become much more intense since he'd been resurrected. They were strange, starry almost. He looked away, fingers curling in against his palms. He felt warmth spread through his chest and limbs, he sighed, eyes closing. “You know, she's always watching over you.” He muttered, reaching out and finding Cloud's shoulder. He dragged him back, listening to Cloud's little noise of surprise as he wrapped one arm around his waist and buried his nose in his hair, “We both were.”  
  
Cloud held still. His body tense, heart hammering against his ribs. Zack smiled against his hair. “Zack...?”  
  
“Uh...sorry.” Zack released him reluctantly, “In the lifestream we couldn't exactly touch anything. Being made of light and all that...guess I just...missed that.” _Missed_ _ **you**_ _,_ he didn't say.  
  
Cloud looked away, extracting himself from Zack's embrace. His cheeks were pink and he cleared his throat awkwardly. He bent and plucked a flower from the earth, staring into it's centre. “She gave me one of these when we first met,” He said with a glance back at Zack, “It was...just after a mission I did with AVALANCHE.”  
  
“She was a sweet girl.” Zack agreed, “I first met her when I fell through the roof.” He gestured upwards with a smile, “I was in the sector five reactor-” He cut himself off with a sigh, “And I got blasted through the floor. Woke up and she was there.”  
  
Cloud stared at the water, “I found out her name when I fell through the roof too.” He looked up at the sky, “When we went to blow up Mako reactor five...”  
  
Zack moved closer, taking the flower and sliding it in the strap that crossed his chest and held his pauldron on. He smiled and brushed a few wayward strands of hair from Cloud's face, “Funny how history repeats itself,” He said and stepped back, “We should get going.”  
  
Cloud blinked before nodding, he turned and followed Zack out of the church and back down the steps.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So shit hits the fan in this chapter. Enjoy my friends and thank you to everyone who's Kudos-ing and commenting, I really appreciate it. :)

Rufus stared across the room, watching the loud, rambunctious group of people in fascination. He recognised a few faces but many of them he had never met before. He saw Reno sat in his seat allowing Elena to scrawl large pink hearts all over his cast, he saw Rude being teased by a woman with a long, blond pony tail and a sawn off shotgun resting by her feet, he saw Tseng with his head bowed, smile on his face as he spoke to a rather intimidating man with a horrible scar on one cheek, glasses and a sword belted at his waist. Rufus was completely fascinated, watching his Turks, the ones who had stayed at his side, acting the most relaxed he had ever seen them. The level of conversation in the room was loud, an odd bright laugh rising above the hum of chatter and the occasional loud (and usually rude) comment from someone. He could sense the thick camaraderie and for the first time he could see that the Turks were far more than simply colleagues, they were a brotherhood.

"Noisy, aren't they?"

Rufus turned to find Veld stood at his shoulder, he admired the man's poise and smiled. "Indeed." He replied, eyes moving and finding Reno as he tugged on Rude's jacket, mouth moving as he whispered something. "Mr. Veld, it's good to see you." Rufus smiled.

"And you, Mr. President." Veld replied, nodding his head politely. "I hope my old subordinates have been treating you well?"

"I've been so well guarded I haven't been able to do anything." Rufus replied. Veld was starting to look his age, he had white in his hair and more wrinkles around his eyes but Rufus could see he remained strong as ever beneath his plain white shirt and simple light-weight grey trousers. No Turk uniform for him, he refused to usurp Tseng's position. Rufus saw Tseng look up, glancing over at Veld, a sparkle in his eye Rufus hadn't seen since before the fall of Meteor. "I'm sorry for having you dragged out of retirement like this."

Veld shrugged. "We all helped with the evacuation of Midgar, assembling like this for another crisis is something we were prepared for." He replied smoothly. "To be honest, not many of us were even able to retire, I know for a fact that Balto never settled." He smiled, voice warm as if talking about his very own children. "Too many of us were born to violence, Mr. President, peace is worse than death." His face sobered and he sighed heavily, eyes lingering particularly on Reno, Rude and Tseng. "Some of us are incapable of leaving this life behind." He said, Rufus saw pity and guilt in his eyes.

"They wanted to remain with me." Rufus said, "I gave them the option of leaving, Elena could have returned to her sister but they all refused."

Veld glanced at him briefly and then away. "Where would they have gone, sir?" He asked.

"I..." Rufus looked to Tseng, to Reno and Rude and realised what he meant. "I don't know."  
  
“Shinra is their home...” Veld sighed and shook his head, “Of all of us those three never knew a life beyond being a Turk. They'd never leave, even if given the option. You can't buy that kind of loyalty.”  
  
Rufus straightened his back and flashed the older man a smile, “I know.” He said and strode to the front of the room, causing all eyes to snap to him. “Welcome,” He began, “You all know who I am so I'll dispense with the introductions. We have a crisis on our hands and I've called you all back because Shinra...no, the _world,_ needs your help.”  
  
Veld listened to Rufus speak, seeing the father in the son. Rufus had a confidence about him, he was a man who knew exactly who he was and what he wanted. It was a dangerous sort of confidence, if put into the wrong hands but Veld knew Tseng and knew that he wouldn't follow someone he had no confidence in. Rufus had saved their lives, there was little of his father's monetary greed in him. No, Rufus had motives of his own. What those were, however, remained to be seen.  
  
XXX  
  
Reeve eyed the gathering crowds, shifting nervously as the small group of guards he had gathered watched with him. He cleared his throat and turned to see a white limo pull up along side the temporary plinth that had been constructed specifically for these speeches, the crowd fell silent and moved closer to get a better look at President Shinra. He hadn't been seen in public since the Geostigma had been prevalent and the curious people couldn't help but wonder if he was still wheelchair bound. The sun beat down on Reeve's head as he moved to the limo, feeling a flash of irritation at the ostentatious arrival. Rufus, like his father, had no sense of subtlety or modesty. The door opened and Reno climbed out, he was chewing gum as he moved to the back door and pulled it open, his left arm encased in a white cast and covered in heart-shaped doodles. Reeve closed the distance and Reno nodded to him in greeting, Rufus stepped out next, followed closely by Tseng and Elena. Rude got out of the drivers seat and scanned the crowd, Reeve forced a smile as Rufus met his eyes. "Welcome, Mr President, it's good to see you." He said calmly, nodding his head.

"And you Commissioner." Rufus replied, he smiled and adjusted his pristine white jacket. The crowds started muttering again at the sight of him standing tall. "Shall we get this over with?"

Reeve felt his stomach tighten and he swept the crowd nervously once again. "Better hurry it along." He said under his breath, lifting his wrist where the controls for a new Cait Sith were hidden in a watch.

Rufus picked up his stride, his bearing oozing confidence. The crowd seemed impressed by his fearlessness as he approached the dais set up for him. Reno and Rude had his back while Tseng and Elena took their places on either side of the podium, eyes constantly moving, searching for any sign of hostility. The Turks were, as was expected, a lot more professional than Reeve's protection but Reeve worried that they were too few to really keep Rufus safe. He took a slow breath and ascended the podium to Rufus' side, they must appear to be united, to be working together for the people. He tried to project the same confidence Rufus did but Reeve had never been too good at that and he couldn't help but curl his hands into fists behind his back as he stood at Rufus Shinra's side.

The crowd fell quiet once again as Rufus gave them all a smile, behind him the re-built Meteorfall monument glittered brass and steel in the sunlight. The light shimmered off of the metal and onto Rufus' white-blond hair, he certainly did make a fine figure dressed in white and smiling out at the people, Reeve thought with vague admiration. Rufus cleared his throat, "Welcome." He began, eyes cold and distant. "As you are all aware Shinra and the WRO have been working together for a long time, since the destruction of Midgar that was," He paused and briefly looked up at the statue behind them before returning his attention to the crowd. "We have been working to rebuild our lives, to better ourselves, to ensure that your lives are better. However, just recently we have been made aware of some dissidents who do not agree with our goals, they, understandably, hold a grudge against what Shinra was before, when my father was in charge and...after." Rufus looked down, a small frown on his face that spoke of guilt. His expressions, along with the speech, looked too rehearsed to be genuine.

"I have been trying to atone for the things my father and I have done to the planet, to you. It was my money that funded the WRO, I hired the very best surviving scientists to attempt to obtain a cure for Geostigma. My company and I owe the planet and you a lot and we are attempting to pay some of that debt back, little by little. I only hope that you can continue to keep faith in us, to aid us in our attempt to improve ourselves. I am here today to ask that those who call themselves The United Front put an end to this insanity, not only are they attacking men who have been unwilling agents in my father's and professor Hojo's designs but they are attacking innocent people who simply had the misfortune of contracting a fatal disease." He paused again, taking a breath, eyes pleading with the crowd, Reeve was impressed by his level of seeming sincerity however, even now, he wasn't entirely sure he could trust him.

"These deaths are wrong. After all the pain and grief we have been through, do we really need any more? Think carefully, before you join their cause; what if your mother had contracted Geostigma? What if she was now running for her life? What if it was your son? Your daughter? Your wife? Husband? We cannot go on killing each other-" Rufus was cut off, his eyes widened and it took Reeve a second to realise someone in the crowd was dressed entirely in black.

"Run!" Reeve screamed at the crowd, ducking low behind the podium just as Reno and Rude grabbed their president. The ground shook as an explosion rent the air. Debris flew upwards with a column of fire and smoke. Tseng and Elena raised their guns but the people had scattered, giving the enemy cover. Tseng hissed a curse under his breath and stuffed his gun away, he turned and ran up the podium, he grabbed Rufus and hauled him towards the car just as Reeve's men did the same for him. The sudden sound of gun fire brought screams with it, Tseng kept low, shielding the president with his body as they ran for the limo.

"DEATH TO SHINRA!"

The man's scream rose above the crowd, Tseng didn't dare look back but the choice of words chilled him to the bone. He reached the limo and yanked open the door, pushing Rufus into it and sliding in after him. He scrambled between the front seats and sat in the drivers seat. "Tseng!" Rufus gasped finally, looking back through the window. "Drive."

"Sir." Tseng muttered through painfully gritted teeth. He put the car into gear and with a squeal of tires raced out of there, causing people to dive out of the way as he went.

Reno saw the limo speed away from the corner of his eye as he raised his gun and fired off a few shots. He was glad Rufus was safe, the last thing they needed was for him to die. He felt Rude's arm brush his and spotted Elena somewhere below them, Reeve was being escorted back to his own unmarked car and the square was full of screaming, terrified people. "I can't get a decent shot, yo!" Reno shouted over the panicked cries and gun shots. "My arm's fucking useless an' I'm no good aiming with my right!"

Rude shot him a glance. "Get out." He ordered.

"Don't order me around!"

"Reno, don't be an idiot!" Rude snapped back, his face serious as he ducked down behind the podium with Reno to re-load his pistols. "Get out of here, you can't be any help."

"I'm _not_ leaving." Reno gasped, wincing a little as he stood up and fired a few more shots. He saw a man in black go down but several more replaced him. There were too many, the podium would soon be overwhelmed. "Rude?" He said as he ducked back down and panted a little, Rude saw how pale he was and frowned.

"Reno...were you hit?"

Reno grinned at him and pulled back his jacket revealing a blood stained shirt. He swallowed and tasted blood. "Just a scrape, yo." He panted, eyes too bright, face too pale. Sweat ran down his cheek from the strain as he rose again and lifted his gun. Rude made a decision, he grabbed Reno and hauled him down the few steps, diving into the scattering crowd. Reno followed, stumbling a little as he glanced back behind them. “Rude!” He shouted, trying to pull himself free.  
  
“Just run!” Rude demanded, pulling Reno closer to his side, “We can't fight them all.”  
  
Reno finally freed himself as they reached a road that led away from the square, he halted and shook his head. He was panting, the blood stain on his shirt spreading rapidly. “Maybe not but...” he hissed air through his teeth and grinned, a sharp, humourless expression. “You can get away.”  
  
Rude's eyes widened, “ _Reno_.”  
  
“Go. That's an order. The president needs you.” Reno checked his gun for bullets and cursed, tossing it aside as he drew his EMR and several round silver balls. Reno looked back, the sunlight shone off of his red hair and his smile softened in a way only Rude knew, “Get out of here, Rude. Rufus is the priority, get to him and Tseng. Get the job done, yo.”  
  
Rude couldn't speak. He remained where he was, muscles tense, jaw locked in determination. A huge group of United Front members appeared ahead of them, halting and lifting their weapons. One man stepped forward eyes glinting. “Oh look, I found the pretty one again.” He laughed to himself and glanced at Rude, “And he's got a friend with him, how sweet.”  
  
Reno tossed the silver balls into the air. There was a crackle, the smell of ozone filling the street. The balls expanded, electricity popping and crackling as they spread out and started to spin slowly around Reno.   
  
Rude went still. Caught between duty to Rufus and Shinra and loyalty to his partner. Reno shook his head, cocking his hip as he lifted his EMR. He smirked in the sunlight, eyes glinting dangerously. Rude knew there were too many, Reno would be overwhelmed. He would die. He cracked his knuckles, stepping up beside him. “I'm not going anywhere, partner.” He said in a low voice.  
  
Reno glanced back at him, something shifting in his eyes. “Rude-”  
  
“I'm defying orders, sir.” He tightened his gloves and curled his hands into fists, lifting them and fixing his gaze on the large group of men before him. “If we go down, we do it together.”  
  
Reno smiled, tipping his head back and looking up at the sky, “Well, partner, let's teach these guys what it means to be a Turk.” He drawled and suddenly, he was gone. Leaving behind only an after image as he dived into the fray.  
  
XXX  
  
"Reeve?! What's going on?" Cloud accosted Reeve as soon as he pulled up outside Seventh Heaven.

"The United Front, they have an army." Reeve managed between panting breaths, his face pale as he strode into the bar. "Assemble the others, we need everyone on board."

Cloud nodded and sent several texts with a code they had all agreed on long ago, if another crisis happened. When he was done he looked up at his old friend and noted how much older he looked as he slumped in a bar stool, head in hands as he leaned his elbows on the bar top. "Survivors?" Cloud asked.

"I don't know." Reeve muttered, voice muffled and weirdly distant. "I saw Tseng get Rufus out, so I know they're alive...the other Turks? I have no idea." He shook his head, as if to dislodge a fly.

Cloud nodded, frowning as he began to pace. The TV was the only sound for a while.

" _It's...it's a massacre! The United Front are just...just...gunning people down in the streets...I...I can't believe it! I..._ "

Both men looked up at the TV in the corner of the bar, they saw a dishevelled reporter holding a camera and showing them all the devastation in the square. Bodies lay sprawled on the tarmac, blood spattered the ground and Cloud counted several children among the dead. He winced and forced himself to turn away. The reporter was nearly in hysterics, the odd sob escaping her lips as she tried to focus on the mayhem.

" _There's a Turk among the dead..._ "

Cloud looked up at that in time to see a corpse with blond hair on the TV, he felt his stomach twist as he recognised her. "Elena." He whispered. "Shit."

"Rufus isn't going to react well to this." Reeve whispered in a tight voice. "He'll take it as a personal attack."

Cloud shook his head. "If I know Tseng, Rufus isn't going to do anything except go into hiding. They're going to lock him up for his own safety."

"Good. We're going to need a strong leader I fear." Reeve sighed heavily and rubbed at his eyes before standing. "I have to go, I need to do some damage control. If you see Vincent before I can call him, tell him I need him."

Cloud nodded and walked Reeve to the door. "Be careful."

"I'll try." Reeve smiled weakly at Cloud. "I've no intention of hiding, Cloud. The people need a leader and I'm less of a threat than Rufus Shinra."

"Don't do anything stupid." Cloud replied quietly.

"Me? I never do stupid things." Reeve laughed tightly before walking away. "I'll phone and let you know what's happening, in the mean time Cid said the Shera is on her way. Your family will be safe soon, Cloud."

"Thanks."

When Reeve had left Cloud took a moment to lean against the door, he let his head fall back against it with a dull thunk. He closed his eyes and the images on the TV flashed behind his lids, the blood, the screams, the corpses. He winced and bared his teeth, putting one hand to his head as memories tried to force their way to the fore front of his mind. Things he had opted not to remember. After a moment to collect himself he straightened his shoulders and started towards the back of the bar and went upstairs to the next floor.

"You seeing this, man?" Cloud heard Zack's cracked voice as he ascended the stairs and paused, he peered around the door way to find his friend curled up on the sofa with his legs to his chest and a phone pressed to his ear. His eyes were glued to the TV screen. "It's worse than Wutai." Zack paused, obviously listening to the response. "I know! I know...I just-" He paused again and sighed heavily, closing his eyes and leaning his head back against the sofa. "I got you. You just look after yourself." Zack smiled weakly and laughed without much humour. "Yeah, I will. Bye." He hung up and pushed his hands into his hair.   
  
Cloud hesitated for a second before stepping through the door and into his bedroom, “Zack?”  
  
Zack looked up, “Hey,” He straightened his posture and fixed a smile on his face, it looked stiff and very fake. Cloud frowned. “What's up?”  
  
“Who was that?”  
  
“Who...who was what?”  
  
“On the phone...I didn't even know you had a phone.” Cloud nodded to the device sticking out of Zack's pocket. He folded his arms across his chest defensively.  
  
“Ah...” Zack cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck, “It's a long story...kinda.”  
  
Cloud remained silent, blinking at him.   
  
“Shit.” Zack sighed and rose, wondering over to the window where groups of people were running past. “I told you that when someone comes back from the dead it...opens a door, right?” Cloud nodded, “And I told you that something else might've come through with me.” Zack sighed and leaned against the wall, arms folded, “I don't know what you remember from...before but...I had a mentor, once. Back when I was just a second class.”  
  
“I...don't remember.” He said. “Even now most of my memories are...hazy.”  
  
Zack smiled sadly at him, “Yeah, makes sense. Mako can do that.” He sighed and ran fingers through his hair, “Well, my mentor came back with me. I just thought...we could use all the help we can get, right? And another First Class SOLDIER wouldn't be a bad thing. Thing is...he was...” Zack shook his head and finally turned to face Cloud, “He was friends with Sephiroth. Him, along with a guy named Genesis and Sephiroth were the very first SOLDIER's. Angeal and Genesis were Hollander's subjects, like Sephiroth was Hojo's. They're...different.”  
  
“Monsters.” Cloud said blankly, eyes brightening, “They're monsters. Like you and...me.”  
  
“No.” Zack shook his head, “We're human, Cloud. We're just...”  
  
“Whatever. Where is this guy then?”  
  
Zack blinked at Cloud's curt response, kind of hurt by the weird coldness he was exuding, “I-uh...well, he's somewhere out in the wastes right now. Genesis is...kinda a handful and he's been busy trying to reign him in.”  
  
“You said you'd woken up alone. Why would you lie to me?”  
  
“I didn't lie, Cloud. I really didn't meet up with him until I'd come across the nearest town.”  
  
“So, you avoided the truth. Why?” Cloud stepped back when Zack moved forward.  
  
“I wasn't sure how you'd take it.” Zack admitted, “It's been years, Cloud. We've all changed, I had to be careful what I told you.”  
  
Cloud turned away, looking down the hall, “And you knew. You knew all this time...I'm not going insane, he's really back, isn't he?”  
  
Zack winced, “I'm sorry.”  
  
“Don't. Just...” Cloud shook his head, rubbing at his temple, “I have a headache. I need to lie down.” He mumbled, moving to the bed and sitting down on it.   
  
“I don't like this any more than you do,” Zack sighed, shaking his head and glancing over to the TV that continued to show the devastation in Meteor square. “But, we can't refuse any help. They aren't just going to give up. This is a deceleration of _war_ , Cloud. No one knows war better than him.”  
  
Cloud looked up through his hair, his eyes shadowed, haunted, “You don't know what he did Zack, you weren't _there_.”  
  
A flash of hurt crossed Zack's face, he turned away, “I know.” He muttered, folding his arms across his chest, “If I had a choice I would've been. I never wanted to leave you.”  
  
“I'm just...tired.” Cloud's shoulders slumped, he kept his eyes on the floor between his boots as Zack approached. Zack crouched and took Cloud's hands in his own, he looked down at them with a small frown.  
  
“You can do this. I know it. You're stronger than any of us.” Zack freed one hand to touch the hair falling against Cloud's cheek, he brushed it back, noting a few strands were paler than normal. It looked as if some of the colour was leeching out of it. Zack hesitated, a tremble in his fingers as he held the lock between them, “Cloud...”  
  
Cloud met his eyes, “Don't tell Tifa.” He whispered and clasped Zack's fingers in his own hand, he drew them away and shifted back.   
  
Zack nodded, “You should get some rest,” He said, pulling away. “I'll keep an eye on things, don't worry.”  
  
Cloud let himself lie back in bed, he hesitated a moment before shuffling back against the wall. He looked up at Zack through his hair and patted the bed, “You can...” He trailed off, looking away but Zack understood. He smiled and climbed onto the bed with him.   
  
“Just like old times, huh? I used to hold you just like this when it got cold at night while we were on the run.” He wrapped his arms around Cloud and pulled him close, burying his face in his hair. “I don't think I've ever felt so lonely as I did then.” He breathed and clutched him tighter.


	6. Chapter 6

Rufus stood inside the ancient bunker, eyeing the dust and cobwebs distastefully. Tseng paced around, checking on supplies and cataloguing everything. “Why are we here?” Rufus asked finally, turning to Tseng with a glare, “We would be much better served to be out there trying to-”  
  
“My job is to protect you,” Tseng cut him off, giving him a sharp look. Rufus noticed how tense he was for the first time since their getaway. “Let me do that.”  
  
Rufus looked away, up towards one of the tiny windows, “Will they contact you?”  
  
“I would assume so...sir.” Tseng added like an after thought, he held a can of something in his hand. The label was sun bleached and unreadable.   
  
“I can protect myself, Tseng.” Rufus reminded him, a sharp note in his voice as he strode across the small room and stared at a cracked wall. “I don't need to be babied. We trained together, remember?”  
  
Tseng said nothing. He looked up at the ceiling vents, looking for any possible way someone could get inside. The bunker was ancient, almost as old as the Shinra company itself, it had been built with war in mind. During the height of the Wutai conflict engineers had set up various bunkers for the more prominent families in Midgar. Few knew about them, Tseng was one of them. He turned to find Rufus running his finger across a shelf, nose wrinkling in disgust as he stared at the thick layer of it on his skin.   
  
“How old is this place? It's disgusting.” He muttered as he walked over to an ancient PHS device and poked around. “What's the plan now?”  
  
“We wait for contact from the others.” Tseng replied, voice still stiff. He couldn't relax, knowing his men were out there possibly hurt...or worse. He pushed those thoughts aside and examined more cans of food, “I will need to procure some supplies, none of this will be suitable for consumption.”  
  
“Obviously.” Rufus mumbled, frowning at the defunct machinery.   
  
Tseng's phone cut off any retort he may have been tempted to make, he drew it out of his pocket and flipped it open; “Veld,” He said, eyes on Rufus as the familiar voice of his old boss spoke in his ear. “I...yes...I understand...” Tseng closed his eyes, lowering the phone and shutting it off.   
  
“What is it?” Rufus asked, eyes narrowing as he took in Tseng's pale face.  
  
“Elena...” Tseng swallowed, forcing himself to remain cold and detached, “They discovered her body among the large number of civilians.”   
  
Rufus's fingers clenched, “And?”   
  
“They found Rude, he was unconscious but alive...we're not sure how much damage he took until they can get some doctors to look at him.” Tseng hesitated again, teeth clenching hard enough that they creaked, “Reno was nowhere to be found. Only...only his EMR and a lot of blood.”  
  
Rufus felt his world crack. He stared at Tseng, feeling everything begin to crumble just as it had when weapon had destroyed his office. Finally he turned his back, “We need to rendezvous with the others as soon as possible, we need to plan our next move.”  
  
Tseng lowered his head, face hidden behind his hair, “Yes sir, but for now we have to remain here. For your safety.”  
  
“I won't let them get away with this,” Rufus muttered, glaring at the wall, “They'll pay. Even if I have to do it myself, they will _pay_.”  
  
Tseng turned his back, eyes on the faded Shinra Electric Power Company symbol. Slowly he lowered his head, leaning on the table before him and stared down at his hands. He watched his fingers leave marks behind in the dust as he curled them. He struggled for a moment, trying to compose himself. Rufus had already turned away, giving him the only form of privacy he could in such a small space. Tseng closed his eyes and released a slow breath, thinking about Elena, her smile, her eagerness, her silly crush. He finally forced back the emotion threatening to overwhelm him and straightened, he adjusted his suit and took out his phone again.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud was trapped in a nightmare. He was surrounded by cloying smoke, it penetrated his lungs, ripping the oxygen from them. Heat seared his skin until it blistered, he knelt on a familiar floor, before him the corpse of a woman. Her blond hair had come out of its pony tail to splay across the floor, much of it had been burnt away. Cloud reached for her, finger tips brushing her twisted, agonised face. " _Mom_?" He croaked. " _Mom? Wake up! M-mom...please..._ "

"Cloud?"

Cloud blinked, eyes stinging from grief and smoke. His lungs burned. His skin ached. He groaned and-

"Cloud! Wake up!"

Cloud rolled and fell onto the floor, he gasped and his eyes flew open. His dream was lingering, clinging to his foggy mind like cobwebs. Breathing was still difficult and there was an unbearable heat in the small bedroom of Seventh Heaven. He gasped and then retched, bile rising in his throat as a hand loomed out of the gloom towards him. He pushed it away violently and leapt to his feet, stumbling and coughing. He fell into the wall, knees weak and head spinning. "...M-Mom..." He choked and felt that hand again, it caught his top and yanked him back towards the window. The dream lingered, he wasn't sure if he was still asleep, "No...Mom!" He pulled himself free, only to collapse again, the world turning grey at the edges.

"Cloud! Snap out of it, we gotta go!"

"S-Sephi-roth..." Cloud moaned, eyes closing as the air burnt them.

The hands grabbed him again, someone mumbling something about being 'damned heavy for a small guy'. He was tossed like a sack over someone's shoulder and hauled back to the window, his accoster grunted as they pushed open the window and before Cloud could regain his senses he was falling. He hit the ground with a resounding crack of shattering pavement beneath his enhanced body, he grit his teeth as bones ground against each other. He opened an eye and watched as a shadowy figure climbed to the window ledge and leapt, he landed neatly beside Cloud who was now coughing as his lungs expelled the excess carbon dioxide.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

Cloud opened his eyes and groaned before he sat up and shook his head. "What's going-" His voice died and his eyes widened at the sight behind Zack. "No! No no no!" He leapt to his feet and ran towards the raging inferno that had once been Seventh Heaven. "Tifa! Marlene! Denzel!"

"Cloud! There's nothing you can do!" Zack grabbed him and hauled him backwards, Cloud managed to hit him in the jaw with an elbow. Zack jerked back, losing his hold on Cloud as he ran straight into the blaze. A crowd had gathered, some carrying water and trying to help put a stop to the fire before it started to consume the whole street. Others simply gawked. Zack swore as he followed Cloud, ducking underneath the crumbling lintel and diving into the super-heated room beyond.

The place was so full of smoke it was almost impossible to see through, it was as hot as an oven and Zack knew that someone who hadn't been enhanced would be incinerated. He put his sleeve over his mouth and nose and squinted through the smoke, the ceiling was almost completely aflame, the fire crawled over the walls as if it was alive. He dived past the inferno that used to be the bar and ran to the stairs, he saw Cloud's shadowy figure standing at the top of the stairs. "Cloud!" Zack shouted, his voice cracking and causing him to sputter and cough. Cloud didn't seem to hear him, he fell to his knees and hung his head. Zack felt as if a chasm had opened up inside him, he took the stairs two at a time, just managing to dodge one as it collapsed beneath his feet. He reached Cloud's side and saw a small cupboard with it's door open to reveal a small body curled around itself and quite obviously dead, he could sense the complete lack of life in Denzel. Zack grabbed Cloud, barely able to look at the scene before hauling him to his feet. Cloud didn't struggle as Zack dragged him back down stairs and out into the fresh air. Behind them there came a crash as the entire top floor collapsed in on itself.

Outside Zack lowered Cloud to the floor, he looked into his sooty face with great concern as several people rushed forward to try to help. Zack waved them away, knowing by the stunned, slightly vacant look on Cloud's face that help from strangers wouldn't be appreciated. "Hey...Cloud?" Zack asked quietly, lifting a hand and touching Cloud's cheek. Cloud's eyes were wide, his skin almost black from the soot but Zack almost shivered when he turned those eyes on him. They were empty, his face slack as if he couldn't really believe what he had seen inside the house. "Cloud? Come on...Come back to me." Zack whispered, pushing a hand into Cloud's frazzled hair and tugging the spikes affectionately. Cloud simply hung his head.  
  
“Cloud!” Zack looked up as Tifa ran towards them, Marlene clutched to her side. She stopped, eyes scanning the area, “Where's...Denzel?” She asked, meeting Zack's eyes. Zack lowered his gaze and shook his head. Tifa turned, looking back up at the building as it burned. A few people were trying to help put it out before it spread. “No.” She whispered, her voice broke and she fell to her knees. She hugged Marlene close who was already sobbing, her tears leaving clean pink tracks down her sooty cheeks.  
  
“Tifa?” Zack turned back to her, “Get the kid out of here...she doesn't need to see this.”  
  
Tifa sniffed, taking a breath to steady herself before rising again. She nodded and took Marlene by the shoulders, “Let's go see Daddy, yeah? He should be here by now.” She smiled but the little girl could only nod. Zack watched them walk down the street, neighbours parting for them, some patting Tifa's shoulder to offer comfort.  
  
Zack turned his attention back to Cloud, “Hey, can you stand?” He asked, tugging on Cloud's arm, “C'mon, up you get. We're gonna be ok, Tifa and the girl, they're alive. Don't worry.” He struggled to get Cloud to respond before finally sighing and lowering his head, “Cloud...please. They can't do this without you, man. Tifa needs you...We all do. Don't shut down.”

A shadow fell across them as Zack tugged Cloud to his side, it was soon joined by another and then another. Zack felt the hostility and he turned to look up into masked faces. In their hands were bottles half filled with explosive liquid, Zack could smell the gasoline on them even though they stood down wind. He felt bile rise in his throat as he looked at the men, his fingers clenched tightly on Cloud's hair, causing him to flinch at the sudden pain. Cloud shifted, eyes taking some time to focus on their visitors. Zack felt his tension, his muscles rippled, Cloud's entire body went stiff. The air become charged, as if a storm was about to break and Zack turned abruptly to look at his friend. "Cloud?"  
  
“Looks like we missed a few rats.” One of the men laughed, his friends joining in.

Cloud didn't answer, his eyes seemed to glow ever brighter as the men advanced. Slowly, with fluid movements, Cloud stood. He reached for his sword which Zack had rescued, tossing it out the window as soon as he noticed the smoke. Slowly he lifted it. "You murdered him." He whispered in a voice shattered by grief and smoke, he closed his eyes and when he reopened them they were replicas of Sephiroth's. His face twisted into an animalistic snarl, the men backed off, drawing weapons of their own.

"Cloud...Cloud, calm down." Zack stood slowly, hands lifted in a placating gesture, "Don't lose yourself."

"Back off, they're mine!" Cloud snarled, not even looking at his friend. "They wanted a monster?! I'll give them one!" His voice cracked and broke, his body shuddered and energy rippled the air around him like a heat haze.

"Cloud...?" Zack approached warily, as if he was stalking a dangerous wolf. " _Think_."

Cloud screamed and leapt. The men swore and scattered as a red veil descended over Cloud's vision.

Zack watched on in horror. Bystanders turned and fled, their screams of terror filling the streets and joining the sound of flames. His hands curled into fists at his sides as he watched Cloud decimate the enemy. He was a blur of gold, black and blue-coloured energy. He twirled, dodged and cut through the men until there were none left standing.

Blood spattered the walls of nearby houses, Cloud's sword dripped crimson to the pavement as he stood surrounded by black-clad bodies. His shoulders rose and fell as he panted and slowly he turned, his sword dragging on the ground as his eyes met Zack's. Cloud's face was filthy, blood matted his hair, it dripped down his cheeks and his now-green eyes were devoid of emotion. First Tsurugi, a sword that had once been untainted by innocent death, drew sparks as Cloud shifted and its tip dragged across the concrete at their feet. He stumbled, one hand going to his head. His eyes flickered, blue to green and back again before he doubled over and vomited violently into the gutter. He braced himself with one hand on the wall and Zack stood back, watching helplessly. He swallowed, mouth opening to speak but Cloud gasped, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand as he finally lifted his head and met Zack's eyes. Cloud winced again, eyes flashing green.

Zack hesitated but Cloud shook his head, slashing his hand through the air before Zack could protest. "D-Don't...” Cloud's breath caught in his throat as a shadow fell across him, he heard the beat of a single wing and then the touch of cool leather covering his eyes. He felt another hand curl around his wrist, thumb pressed against his racing pulse. He was caught in darkness, trapped by the familiar scent of vanilla.

"Good to see you, Cloud." Sephiroth purred into his ear and felt a violent shudder rip through his puppet.

"Sephiroth." Cloud's voice was unsteady, he spoke Sephiroth's name in the same tone one would a vengeful god. Sephiroth laughed softly into his ear, sending hot breath across Cloud's cheek and ruffling the hair by his ear.

"I could hear your screams from the wastes, my puppet. I can feel your anguish. Smell your shame and taste your agony. Let go. Hate them, Cloud. Hate them as you hated me so long ago." He whispered into Cloud's ear, eyes on Zack who was frowning. "Hate them and give yourself to me."

"Sephiroth." Cloud said again, this time it was a moan of desperate longing that escaped his lips. His breathing hitched and he leaned back into the man who held him.

"Sephiroth? What're you doing?" Zack asked cautiously, taking a step closer. Sephiroth lifted his eyes and frowned, shaking his head sharply in a commanding way to halt Zack in his tracks.

"Come, Cloud. I know you want it, you want to forget. You need oblivion. Give up, let go and come to me. Let me give you what you crave."

Cloud's panting sped up, his body shuddering as he felt Sephiroth's call, the cells in his body responding with triumphant fury to his voice. Zack flinched, his head filling with weird static as he received a backlash from Sephiroth's powers. He leaned against the wall, eyes narrowed and teeth gritted. Cloud moaned again, back arching, one hand releasing his sword so it clattered to the floor. Cloud gasped and felt Sephiroth tighten his grip on him, his knees gave way but Sephiroth held him up, he sagged back against him, all the fight leaving him. A single tear slid down his cheek from beneath Sephiroth's hand.

Sephiroth sighed softly. "Sleep." Cloud went limp in his arms and Sephiroth adjusted his weight, lifting him bride-style into his arms with ease. "Come, we must leave before they send in reinforcements." He said and his wing burst from his back.

Zack blinked, watching Sephiroth rise into the dark night sky. He looked around, the street was now empty. People had evacuated, leaving behind only corpses and a few black feathers while the bar burned on.  
  
XXX  
  
  


Tseng sat in the corner of the quiet bunker, one knee up and an arm resting across it. He watched Rufus lie on the only bed, a creaking, ancient thing that shed flakes of rust and puffs of dust with every movement. Asleep the president looked younger, the tension gone from around his eyes and mouth. He breathed quietly, hair a tangled mess around his face. His suit was dirty, the white material picking up anything it came into contact with. He used his jacket like a blanket, pulled over his chest to try and keep warm. The situation didn't suit the president, never in his life had he ever had to sleep on a rotten mattress in a dank little hole in the ground. Tseng smiled to himself bitterly, pushing his own hair away from his face. He sighed, eyes closing as he leaned back against the wall.  
  
A few hours later and Tseng felt his phone vibrate, he reached into his pocket and withdrew it. “Yes?”  
  
“Tseng,”  
  
“Veld, any news?” He looked up, watching Rufus open his eyes and squint over at him.  
  
Veld was silent for a moment, causing cold dread to sink into Tseng's chest. He hunched forward, head down as if to hide from Rufus behind the fall of his hair, “Sir?” He whispered.  
  
“Rude's just woken up...we...haven't told him about Reno.” Veld sighed heavily, a bite in his voice Tseng wasn't used to hearing, “How's Rufus?”  
  
Tseng sighed, “Fine. We're...alive, at least.”  
  
“Good. Don't tell me where you are.” Veld reminded him gently, “However, we've found somewhere to hide out for a while. The United Front has taken over Edge, they've set up a temporary government and are driving out anyone who speaks against them. We can't go back.”  
  
“What about...Cloud and his friends?”  
  
“That ex-SOLDIER?” Veld asked, “We've had word that someone burnt his home to the ground. No one's seen any of them since.”  
  
“Even Cloud?” Tseng rubbed at his eyes.  
  
“So it would seem,” Veld's voice softened, “Tseng, we will get through this. So long as Rufus is alive, we have some hope of returning everything to how it was.”  
  
“Not everything.” Tseng muttered into the phone, ignoring Rufus's icy stare, “We've already lost so much, nothing can ever replace that.”  
  
“I know.” Veld replied, pain in his voice. Tseng heard him shift, the rustle of fabric. “Everyone here needs you alive, Tseng. Remember that.”   
  
“Yes sir-uh...yes, Veld.” Tseng sighed and hung up. He took a moment to stare at his phone, running his thumb over the screen. Finally he looked up to see Rufus sat up on his bed, his jacket pooled around his waist. His shirt was open, tie discarded before he'd tried to sleep. “Rude woke up,” He said, trying to smile but it dropped quickly from his face.  
  
“That's good.” Rufus said warily, “Any sign of Reno?”  
  
Tseng shook his head, pushing himself to his feet and moving to the corner where he'd managed to collect some limited supplies. He grabbed a rusty old mug from a shelf and filled it with fresh water. He brought the mug to Rufus who at least tried to hide his sneer of disgust. Rufus drank and then handed the cup back, “What are we going to do?” He asked.  
  
“Lay low.” Tseng shrugged, “It's all we can do for now. The United Front have the run of Edge, they've set up a temporary government and are persecuting anyone who disagrees.”  
  
“Hm, sounds familiar.” Rufus mused, lips curling upward into a half-smirk, “What of Cloud?”  
  
“No one knows. Tifa's bar was burnt down two nights ago, since then no ones seen either her or Cloud.”  
  
“We would know if they had died, surely? The United Front would want to spread the news that they'd taken out a great hero. It's what I would do.”  
  
Tseng nodded, pouring himself a drink and finding some military style rations. He handed a package to Rufus who sighed heavily as he tore it open. “Veld will give us the go ahead when it's safe to leave and then we'll find the others, we can plan more from there.”  
  
“What's Tuesti doing? Surely he's not in hiding too? He's no warrior but he's not that cowardly.”  
  
“He's gone back to Junon, the United Front seem to be leaving him alone for now.”  
  
Rufus nodded, gazing despairingly at his crappy food.   
  
“Eat, sir. You need your strength.” Tseng used a spoon to dig into whatever was in his foil package, he ignored Rufus' quiet displeasure and ate as quickly as he could without tasting a thing.  
  
XXX  
  
Rude lay in a bed, a blanket pulled up to his chest as he stared up at the ceiling. According to the doctor, a small, beady eyed woman, he had suffered a severe head injury. He could feel the bandages around his head, thick and heavy. He turned his head slowly, blinking away the weird sensation of spinning as he looked at the bedside table.   
  
“Rude...” Veld said from somewhere beside him, “There's something you need to know...” He sighed, Rude could hear the scrape of a chair being pulled closer. “When we found you we couldn't find any sign of Reno.”  
  
Rude knew. He had seen them drag Reno's limp body away. He had no idea if he was alive or... Rude said nothing, shoving aside the image. His hands curled into fists on the covers.  
  
“I'm sorry,” Veld said, pain in his voice but he didn't touch, Rude was grateful for that much. He stared at the bedside table, watching the light glint off of Reno's bloody EMR. “There's a good chance he's still alive, if so we'll do everything in our power to find him.” Rude knows that but it doesn't bring him any comfort, there's only one reason they'd want a Turk alive and that was information. “Felicia sends her regards,” Veld said suddenly, fishing for something to say. Rude's silences usually spurred people to do that but Rude's colleagues had grown used to it. “She's safe, by the way. She's got a fiance, would you believe it?” Veld laughed softly, “I did a thorough background check, just to be on the safe side but he seems like a good man...they're happy together.”  
  
Rude's fists tightened. The only response he would give. Veld saw it and rose, “I'll...leave you to rest then.” He said, moving to the door. He looked back at Rude on the bed and sighed, shaking his head before leaving.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning to be had; this is not a happy chapter and won't be a happy story. It may have a sort of happy ending but I'm not sure how cruel i'm feeling yet. :p 
> 
> The appearance of Angeal and Genesis was in the original fic I wrote but I didn't realise how badly I'd struggle writing them. It has been YEARS since I even attempted a fic with Genesis and Angeal in it. I have rewatched the cutscenes from Crisis Core just to try and get into their heads but...well..it still feels awkward. I hope that eases as I continue to write, I've never been a huge fan of Genesis anyway, he kind of annoys me. Enjoy and thank you to everyone who is reading, kudosing and commenting! I really appreciate it.

“ _Hey, Rude...” Rude felt weight on his chest, felt soft hair brushing his bare chest. He kept his eyes closed as hands slid across his skin. “Rude, partner,” Reno sang softly directly into Rude's ear. He could feel warm, toothpaste scented breath brushing his skin. Teeth bit lightly at his earrings, “Ruuuude, it's time to wake up, yo.”  
  
_ Rude opened his eyes, expecting to find himself looking up into a familiar, angular face framed by locks of red hair. He blinked and only found himself looking up at the cracked ceiling of a house in the middle of nowhere. The rush of memories made him wince. He lifted a hand to his face and ran his palm over the stubble growing in on his jaw. Slowly he sat up, his bandages had been removed a week ago and he only had bruises to show for his beating. He pulled back the covers and slid his legs out of the bed, feet landing on a dusty red carpet. He looked down at his bare toes, watching them curl. If he closed his eyes he could almost feel Reno's arms, heavy as they draped around his shoulders. Rude shook himself mentally and got out of bed, scratching his thigh as he grabbed his clothes and went into the bathroom.  
  
Once he was washed, shaved and dressed as impeccably as ever he went down a set of creaky old stairs. He could hear voices, quiet and unusually subdued. He followed them into the kitchen where he found Cissnei perched on the counter while Emma sat on a rickety stool. The girls looked up as he entered, Cissnei's eyes immediately softening, she offered him a smile. “Hey,” She said, nodding to some clean bowls, “I'm afraid we've only got cereal for breakfast, Balto's out now getting some more supplies so we should have something decent for lunch.”  
  
Rude shook his head, glancing to Emma. She was leaning on one hand, a mug with 'I <3 Costa Del Sol' on it full of clear alcohol. Her eyes were shadowed, her hand shook as she brought the mug to her lips.   
  
“You want some?” Emma asked, pulling the bottle close. “Bit early but...” She trailed off with a bitter laugh, “Guess it doesn't matter anymore, right?”  
  
Rude took a seat beside her and picked up the bottle, he ran his thumb over the label remembering how the same brand tasted on Reno's tongue. He drank some straight from the neck and put it back down, coughing as it burned his throat. Emma didn't comment, Reno would have had something to say, Rude thought and cut himself off before he could think about it anymore.  
  
Cissnei watched them both, her head lowering, “Veld reported in last night, Rude. He said he received something from the United Front.”  
  
Rude looked up at her, “What is it?” He asked finally, his voice rough from lack of use.  
  
“We don't know.” Cissnei shrugged, “But Veld didn't sound too happy.”  
  
Rude grunted, taking another drink. Emma took the bottle from him and poured herself one more mug full before handing it back, she rose on unsteady legs and slapped him on the back, “Welcome back,” She muttered as she stalked away.  
  
“He said he's calling Tseng back from wherever he's hiding with the President.” Cissnei continued, frowning as Rude finished the bottle. “Rude-”  
  
“Don't.” Rude rose too and shook his head, “Just don't Cissnei.”  
  
She watched him walk away.  
  
XXX  
  
“So, where did they say they were?” Cid frowned out the view window of the Shera, a cigarette clamped firmly between his teeth as he steered.   
  
“In an abandoned house on the edge of the wastes.” Tifa replied, leaning against the nearest console.  
  
“Right, right.” Cid sighed, “How's the kid?”   
  
Tifa closed her eyes and shook her head, “I don't know. No one's spoken to Cloud since he...disappeared. I only have contact with Zack.”  
  
“He that First Class who Cloud-”  
  
“Yeah, that's him.” Tifa looked up at Cid, her eyes dark and surrounded by shadows. “He hasn't told me much except where to meet him.”  
  
“You're real worried, huh?” Cid took his hands off the wheel and lit his cigarette, blowing smoke through his nose as he grabbed it again. “Vince said he'd be there before us, he left Junon a few days back.”  
  
Tifa nodded her head, “Barett's just putting Marlene to bed,” She sighed, rubbing at her bare arms as if she was cold.  
  
“Hey, don't worry so much. We'll get the girl to Wutai, Yuffie's already said she'd go with them an' make damn sure they'll be safe. Plus, Shera's goin' too.”  
  
“I heard,” Tifa managed a small smile, “Congratulations. A married man, never would've thought you'd be the one to get hitched.”  
  
Cid grinned, scratching at the tip of his nose, “Aw, it's nothin'. I got bigger news.”  
  
“Oh?”  
  
“She's havin' a baby.” His cheeks turned a little pink as he spoke, “Was a surprise, but...I kinda thought, why the hell not?”  
  
“Cid, I'm happy for you.”  
  
They fell quiet again, interrupted only by the quiet hum of the ship around them. The silence was broken only when Barett arrived, boots clumping heavily against the metal floor. “She's down.” He said, “But she's gonna have nightmares again.” He sighed as he sank into the nearest seat. “When we arrivin', Cid?”  
  
Cid puffed smoke into the air, “Hour, give or take.”  
  
Barett grunted, closing his eyes with a heavy sigh.   
  
XXX  
  
Tseng drove through rocky outcroppings on his stolen motorbike. It was an old Shinra model, only working because the man he took it from had kept it in decent condition. It's engine rumbled between his legs as he saw the small, run down building appear through a cloud of dust. He sped forward, reaching the house and pulling to a stop. He kicked the stand down and pulled the scarf he was wearing further up to make sure the lower half of his face was firmly covered. His hair was tied into a tight bun and covered by another headscarf that hid the mark on his forehead. He had oil stains on what was visible of his face, his hands covered in dirt as he glanced around him. He carried a battered old tool box, just another odd-job man going to see his next customer. He reached the door and knocked three times, waited and knocked twice more. There was a pause until someone opened the door a crack and peered through. “I'm here to check your air conditioning,” He said, putting on a thick Kalm accent.  
  
The door opened wide enough for him to slip through. As soon as it was closed behind him he pulled down the scarf. “Veld said there was something he needed to show me?” He asked Cissnei who nodded.  
  
“Tseng,” She hesitated, “It's...probably not good news.”  
  
“I'm aware. Thank you, Cissnei.” She nodded as Tseng slid past her and entered the living room. The Turks were all gathered there, their faces set in varying degrees of trepidation and grief. Emma was sat in a corner, her eyes glazed as a bottle hung from her fingers. Tseng went to her, “Emma...”  
  
“Hey,” She offered him a brittle smile.  
  
“Elena-”  
  
“Don't.” Emma shook her head, her voice breaking as tears filled her eyes, “Don't blame yourself. You know...you know she was...” She took a sharp breath and wiped her eyes on her sleeve, “She was too fucking good for this damn job. And all I ever...all I ever wanted for her was for her t-to have a normal life. And she hated me for it. She always...h-hated me for leaving her.”  
  
Tseng's arm rose before he realised what he was doing. He dropped it uselessly back to his side, “I'm sorry.” He whispered, looking away, “If there was something I could have done-”  
  
Emma shook her head, sniffing, “She was stubborn. She wanted to follow me...I...I guess I should've known what was gonna happen.”  
  
Tseng stepped back, tearing his eyes away as Cissnei jogged over to comfort Emma. He walked to the front of the room, his body feeling weirdly light. He saw Veld watching him, “Tseng,” He nodded. Tseng tried to return the greeting but his voice stuck in his throat. Instead he turned away. Veld waited until the room was full before standing in front of his old Turks. He took over smoothly from Tseng, “At oh one hundred hours this morning I received a message from a mysterious number telling us to watch the television at sixteen hundred this afternoon. They said that it had something to do with...Reno.” He turned to the large, old fashioned television beside him. He turned it on. They all watched as a news caster appeared, he looked a little pale as he scrambled to gather papers and almost knocked a coffee cup over.  
  
“Welcome to this-uh-emergency broadcast, today we were told to gather in monument square this afternoon.” He cleared his throat and continued, “We have a reporter on scene right now. Sharon? What's happening there?”  
  
A woman with a short bob appeared on screen holding a microphone, “I'm here at monument square along with many others. Quite a large crowd has gathered here, none of us really know what's going to happen but we've been told to keep our cameras running.” She turned to what looked like a hastily erected stage, where several masked men in black stood around carrying guns. “Are you getting this, Peter?”  
  
“I am, Sharon.” The man back in the studio confirmed.  
  
“I...I think I can see a truck pulling up.” The woman pointed and the camera man moved to show the truck, a heavily armoured vehicle that came to a stop beside the stage area. The truck's doors opened and more men jumped out, they went around back and opened the back doors. The woman was silent as she watched them usher several people into the street. “It...looks like they're escorting prisoners.” She announced weakly, she was pale and a little shaky. “There's ten of them.” The men in black lined their prisoners up and stood beside them, waiting. Then a man stepped on stage, he wore his mask but his bright brown eyes were familiar. He looked as if he was smiling as he stepped to the fore of the stage.  
  
“Welcome! I'm glad to see so many of you received our message!” He said in a loud, clear voice, “As your new, improved leader I wanted to show you how dedicated I am in my promise to protect you from these monsters that roam our world.” He gestured to the guards who took up position behind each of the prisoners. They were all bound and gagged, one had a hood pulled over his head. A woman began sobbing, tangled hair falling around her dirty, tear-stained face. “Every one of these people is tainted. If we were to set them free they would only breed, increasing their numbers. They would poison our world with their evil.” He lifted a hand into the air, the crowd was silent as they held their breaths, “I promised you I'd put an end to Shinra and their evil legacy.” As he dropped his hand several rounds of bullets were fired. The prisoners dropped all at once. All, except the one wearing the hood. A few people screamed but were quickly hushed. The United Front's leader gazed down at them all, “You see? I keep my promises unlike Shinra.”

He waved and his men grabbed the last prisoner, dragging him roughly to the front to kneel beside their leader. “To further prove my dedication to your protection, my friends, I bring you a gift.” He reached down and tore the hood from the prisoners head. Red hair fell from it, framing a bruised, pale face with narrowed green eyes. “A Turk. To prove to you that they're as mortal as you and I, I'll let you see the colour of his blood. But this isn't just any old Turk, oh no.” The man's eyes crinkled in what could only have been a grin, “This one is the one responsible for bringing down the sector seven plate.” The crowd began to mutter, confusion and worry in their muted voices. “They told you it was Avalanche, they _lied_. I've seen the proof with my own eyes. Today this Turk will die for the sins he's committed against us. For all those innocent people he murdered.”  
  
A ball gag was jammed firmly between Reno's teeth, he blinked in the light, wincing as someone stepped up behind him and grabbed his pony tail. His head was yanked back to reveal his throat. His shirt was torn, bloodied and his jacket gone. The man who had hold of him leaned down and hissed something into his ear, running a hand gun slowly along his jaw. Reno squeezed his eyes shut and leaned away.   
  
“R-Reno?”   
  
Everyone turned to see Rude standing at the living room door way, his eyes were wide and fixed on the screen. “Rude...no.” Tseng moved towards him, hand rising. On the TV behind him the video flickered briefly before there was a sharp bang. Tseng twitched, watching Rude's face go slack. “Rude.” He whispered, voice coming out rough and utterly unlike him.  
  
Rude stared blindly at the screen, seeing a body there with long red hair spilling out from beneath a hood. Blood spattered the ground and dripped slowly to the floor. He stepped back, turning away finally. He heard Tseng call for him but he ignored him. He strode straight for the door. Someone grabbed him before he could wrench it open.  
  
“Rude!” Tseng tugged at his arm, struggling against Rude's incredible strength. Tseng wasn't weak by any means but Rude was the strongest Turk and could easily over power him. “Rude, I'm ordering you to stay here. If you take one step out that door I'll lock you in your room, is that understood?”  
  
Rude went still finally. He didn't turn around though.  
  
“Stay here...” Tseng whispered, his grip loosening, “Don't make me lose you as well.” His voice was less than a whisper, a weakness he would never have shown anyone else. “We'll get them. We'll kill every last one of them, Rude. I promise....just...please stay here. Wait for more information...we...we can't go running into this without knowing more.”  
  
Rude took a moment before finally nodding. He turned away from the front door and went straight back upstairs. Tseng watched him go and heard a crash as Rude put his fist through something. He closed his eyes and tried to compose himself, forcing down the anger, forcing away the growing emptiness. He detached himself, putting everything into a tiny box to be dealt with later. He straightened himself out, brushing hands down his old clothes and took a breath before returning to the living room.  
  
When he returned to the bunker it was to find Rufus waiting for him. He watched Tseng's face for a moment, “Who was it?” He asked, his voice low and eyes as cold as chips of ice.  
  
“Reno. They held a public execution.” Tseng said, surprising himself with how steady his voice was. He went to the nearby table and pulled off his gloves, picking up a cup and pouring himself a drink.  
  
Rufus stared down at his hands as they rested in his lap. In his head he could hear his father's mocking voice; _coward, looser, pathetic...  
  
_ He clenched his fingers, uncut nails digging into the flesh of his palms. He watched Tseng stand with his back to the room, hair cascading down his back in a thick wave. The United Front were slowly taking everything away from him. His home, his men, his world. He was the richest man on the planet and he was trapped in a filthy bunker in filthy clothes eating stuff that was only one step above dog food. He had been captured and tortured before but somehow this was more degrading. A smile curled his lips, sharp, humourless laughter bubbling up through his chest. He leaned over as the laughter spilled forth, it was almost painful as he gasped for breath and clutched at his stomach. Hair fell across his face as the laughter echoed from the walls. Tseng frowned at him, head tilted like a curious cat, it only made Rufus laugh harder.   
  
XXX  
  
Veld entered a small room, the blinds were pulled low and several stolen computer monitors had been set up. Their blue glow coloured Balto's face as he leaned forward, frowning at a video playing on repeat. The sound was off but Veld could see Reno there, bound and gagged as the gun brushed his face. “Balto...what are you looking for?” He asked, causing the man to blink and lean back. He groaned and rubbed at his eyes beneath his glasses. Slowly he shook his head.  
  
“I'm...not sure, boss.” He looked at Veld with a frown, “But when we watched it I noticed something...” He waved Veld forward who stepped up behind him and leaned over. “Here,” He replayed the video. “Just around the time they replace his hood...there. Do you see it?” He glanced back at Veld over his shoulder.  
  
Veld frowned, watching the moment on repeat for a while before finally his eyes widened, “There's a flicker. Very subtle.”  
  
“The videos been edited. They cut something out. This wasn't done live, it's a pre-recording. It's why the reporters were a mess, they were scared.”  
  
“Threatened, most likely.” Veld mused.  
  
“What does it mean? Why would they edit it?”  
  
Veld watched the red hair spill from beneath the hood, “The colour of his hair...don't you think it's a little...off?” He arched an eyebrow and eyed Balto who paused the video again and stared.  
  
“Yeah...yeah maybe a bit too dark.” He muttered, “You don't think that...?”  
  
“Don't get your hopes up.” Veld warned, even as his own chest eased. “And don't tell Rude.”  
  
XXX  
  
  


The hut was small, a little too small for three fully grown SOLDIER's with too much history. It got even smaller when Sephiroth appeared carrying an unconscious blond thing that looked half dead, and smaller again when Zack returned covered in ash and smelling like burnt corpses. Sephiroth had laid his burden down on the only bed while Zack leaned against a wall, arms folded and glaring.   
  
The blond boy had come around a few hours later but he did and said nothing. He didn't even acknowledge anyone else, no surprise, no questions. Zack tried and failed to get any response out of him. This distressed him to the point that he spent more time outside than inside their little hut. He picked up the Buster Sword, now polished and sharp, and beat on the scrubby trees outside until his hands cracked and bled.   
  
Days passed in much the same way.  
  
“He's still not eating.” Angeal said, coming up to stand a few feet behind Sephiroth who stood on a low ridge.  
  
“He won't die.” Sephiroth replied with a shrug, not looking back as the dry wind picked at his hair.   
  
“He's just a kid-”  
  
“He _won't_ die. He can't.” Sephiroth finally turned his head, looking back at his old friend. “I won't allow it.”  
  
“You won't allow it.” Angeal repeated blankly, “Sephiroth-”  
  
Sephiroth returned his gaze to the horizon, for a while the only sounds were those of Zack training below. Angeal sighed, “In that case, what's the plan? We can't just stay here forever, eventually they'll find us. This...United Front or whatever they're calling themselves. We have to move on.”  
  
“The plan...” Sephiroth muttered under his breath, “I don't know.” He admitted finally, looking down at his gloved hands and curling and uncurling his fingers. “I only came here for one reason.”  
  
“The boy?” Angeal moved closer, “What's with him anyway?”  
  
Sephiroth smirked but didn't reply as Zack came trudging up the hill, he glanced at Sephiroth but didn't greet him. “Hey, Angeal,” He said, shifting the buster sword from where it rested on his shoulder, “How is he?”  
  
“He's the same, sorry Zack.”  
  
Zack looked up towards the shack, shaking his head. He kicked at a stone, sending it skittering away down the slope. “What...” He paused, shoulders drooping, “What am I gonna do, Angeal?” He muttered, voice unnaturally plaintive, he looked at his old mentor with those strange starry eyes.  
  
“Just wait. He'll come back, I'm sure of it.” Angeal tried a smile but it didn't change the dark expression on Zack's face. Zack turned and walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Please enjoy and thank you to everyone who's commenting, reviewing and reading. :)

An entire week passed. Zack spent his time between sitting by Cloud's bed, talking about anything and hitting the poor, dying trees outside with the Buster Sword. He was restless, anxious as time passed them all by. Zack had always hated stillness.   
  
Finally someone appeared out of the valley of grey-brown rocks that surround their small, run down cottage. Zack was outside when they arrived, he paused mid-swing and turned. The Buster Sword resting on his shoulder as sweat ran down his face. He wiped it away absently as the figure drew closer. “Stay right where you are!” Zack called, the figure halted. The wind died down and the figure pulled down a scarf they were wearing that covered their face.  
  
“I'm here to-” The figure stopped. Dark eyes widening as he looked Zack up and down, “But...that's impossible.” He whispered, shock rooting him to the spot.  
  
“Wait...is that...Tseng?” Zack lowered his sword and felt a smile tugging at his lips, “Long time no see, huh?”  
  
Tseng blinked a few more times, shaking his head, “You're...alive?”  
  
“Yeah, funny how that happens a lot around here.”   
  
It took Tseng a moment to recompose, shoving the myriad of questions away and focusing back on his mission, “I'm here to see...whoever's in charge here. We had word there were some ex-SOLDIER's hiding out in the wastes, we're here to make an alliance.”  
  
Zack tilted his head, surveying Tseng for a moment before he grinned, “Don't know about the others but I won't say no to your help.”  
  
“Who else is here?” Tseng glanced back up the short ridge to the hut.  
  
“Ah...well...” Zack rubbed the back of his head, “This is kinda awkward but...you remember Angeal?”  
  
“Angeal.” Tseng looked behind Zack again, shoulders tense. “And?”  
  
“Well, we haven't seen him in a while but Genesis was around somewhere...but, I guess you already knew he was about, being a Turk.” Tseng didn't confirm or deny it, “And Cloud's in the hut but...he's not in any state to talk.” Zack frowned and shook his head, spiky hair swaying with the movement.  
  
“He's back too, isn't he?” Tseng nodded up the hill, “Sephiroth.”  
  
“We're not making that public knowledge but...yeah.”   
  
“Hm.” Tseng considered for a moment before stepping forward again, “Then my message extends to everyone who's willing to fight back against the United Front.”  
  
Zack lifted his hand and slapped Tseng on the shoulder, Tseng jolted forward a little and brushed Zack away with a small frown. “Guess we better have our reunion then.” He waved and started up the hill, Tseng followed.  
  
“Reunion?” Tseng shook his head, “A poor choice of words, Zack.”  
  
Zack grinned over his shoulder.  
  
The hut was small and dark as they entered, Zack having to duck under the lintel. On the bed in the corner was a figure but they were unmoving. Leaning against the wall was a huge man with dark hair and thick brows, Tseng recognised him and kept a wary distance.   
  
“Where's Sephiroth?” Zack asked casually as he moved straight for the bed and leaned over it, Tseng watched him run his fingers through a head of blond hair.  
  
“He's scouting. Zack...” Angeal's voice dropped into a low warning growl, “Who is-” He stopped, “Tseng of the Turks?”  
  
Tseng bowed his head, “Angeal Hewley,” He said politely, “It's been a long time.” Angeal nodded. “I've come from Rufus Shinra with a message to anyone on the run from the United Front, we're in need of allies as I'm sure you are as well.”  
  
“You want SOLDIER to team up with Turks?” Angeal raised an eyebrow, “You know that won't go down well.”  
  
“Ordinarily I'd agree, however, our circumstances are dire. All of us need to stand together if we have any hope of surviving this.”  
  
“Unfortunately, this isn't my decision.” Angeal looked to the door as a shadow darkened it. “Sephiroth, play nice.” He warned under his breath.  
  
Tseng stiffened. Shoulders tense as he watched the shadow on the wall opposite. Boots creaked on the floor boards as the figure approached. “A Turk.” Sephiroth's familiar voice sent an involuntary shiver down Tseng's spine. The scar on his chest ached. “Brave of you to come here alone.”  
  
“My mission was to extend the hand of friendship, not to start a war.” Tseng said in a cool voice, slowly he turned around.  
  
Sephiroth stood still, unarmed, “Friendship?” He mused, casting his eyes towards the bed and the figure lying on it. “I have no need of friendship.”  
  
“Sephiroth-” Angeal began but Sephiroth cut him off as he brushed past him.  
  
“This isn't _my_ war,”  
  
“Perhaps not but what does he have to say about it,” Tseng nodded in Cloud's direction as he stirred and groaned. Zack leapt to his side, kneeling by the bed. “He already agreed to work alongside us, I doubt that's changed.”  
  
Zack took Cloud's hand in his own, “Cloud?” He stroked hair from Cloud's face as his eyebrows drew down into a small frown. “Cloud, c'mon, wake up. It's me. It's Zack.”  
  
“I won't take part in a fight that has nothing to do with me.” Sephiroth repeated, staring at Tseng. “You can fight on your own. Isn't that what Shinra does?”  
  
“We're not the company we used to be.” Tseng said, standing stiff in the door way, “Under Rufus Shinra-”  
  
“I don't care.” Sephiroth shrugged, “My only purpose here is Cloud.”  
  
“You think he won't want to fight after what they did to his family?” Zack looked up at Sephiroth, eyes glinting, “You know he will.”  
  
“He can't.” Sephiroth insisted firmly.  
  
“Sephiroth-”  
  
“He is mine.”   
  
“...You can't stop me.”   
  
Zack looked down to see Cloud's eyes open, his voice was hoarse but his gaze firm as he stared at Sephiroth. “Cloud!” Cloud struggled upright and put a hand to his head.  
  
“I'll kill them for what they did to Denzel.”  
  
Sephiroth looked at him in silence for a moment before he looked away again, “Fine. Do as you wish.”  
  
“I don't need anyone's permission.” He rose on unsteady legs, gripping Zack's helping arm as he looked to Tseng, “Bring everyone here, we need to make a plan.”  
  
Tseng smiled, bowing his head again, “I'll report back to the President.” He said, “Ah,” he paused and reached into his pocket, removing an old phone, he handed it to Cloud. “The number in the phone is mine. Use it to reach me if you need us. I'll gather the rest of the Turks and anyone else we can find.”  
  
Cloud nodded and Tseng left the cottage. “The Turks are good at what they do, they'll be helpful.” He pocketed the phone. “Where are my friends?” He turned to Zack who steadied him when he swayed a little.  
  
“I don't know. We haven't seen anyone since the bar burned down.”   
  
Cloud swallowed but nodded once before moving to the door, “Need some air.” He mumbled and went outside.  
  
“Will you help?” Zack turned to Angeal who sighed heavily.  
  
“Zack...”  
  
“You haven't seen what they've done.” Zack shook his head, cutting Angeal off. “They murdered children, Angeal! Kids and SOLDIER and innocent people who just happened to get sick. They can't get away with it.”  
  
Angeal's lips curled into a small smile, “Still wanna be a hero, huh?” He moved forward and ruffled Zack's hair, “Some things never change.”   
  
“Then you'll-”  
  
“I'll do what I can but I won't fight. Not unless I have to. If they see me, Sephiroth or Genesis, it's only going to make matters worse. People are afraid, the last thing you need is more fear.”  
  
Zack hesitated but finally nodded, “Yeah I get that. Thanks Angeal.” He grinned and followed Cloud out of the cottage.  
  
“You only came back for the boy?” Angeal asked once Zack was out of ear shot, he glanced back to bed where Sephiroth now sat.  
  
“What else would I come back for?” He replied, looking up at his old friend.   
  
“He's important to you?”  
  
Sephiroth smiled, “Without him I wouldn't exist as I am now.” He rose and strode back outside.  
  
XXX  
  
Two more days passed by. Cloud kept his distance from Sephiroth and Zack, preferring his own company. He spent his time sitting on a cliff top, looking out across the wastes as a cool breeze blew through his hair.   
  


Finally Zack went to him, sitting at his side. He leaned back on his hands and looked up at the sky, a few white clouds passed above them, casting shadows on the ground. They were silent for a while, “Cloud I...”  
  
“Don't.” Cloud shook his head, watching a few birds fly overhead.  
  
“I should've told you. I just...didn't know how to bring it up.”  
  
“It's ok. I guess I...always knew he'd come back.” _I will never be a memory,_ Cloud shuddered as he remembered Sephiroth's last promise to him. He finally turned and looked at Zack, watching sunlight and shadow pass over his familiar face. Cloud shuffled closer so that their arms brushed.  
  
Zack smiled, “Hey, you ever thought about what you'd do...if...you were normal?”  
  
Cloud eyed him, a frown on his face, “Normal? What's that?”  
  
Zack laughed, lifting an arm and flinging it around Cloud's shoulders. He pulled him closer, “I made you a promise, right?”  
  
“That you'd never leave me.” Cloud replied, breathing in Zack's clean scent. He closed his eyes, letting Zack hold him.  
  
“Yeah.” Zack moved a little, using his free hand to lift Cloud's chin, “I kept that promise, Cloud. Even if you didn't know it.” Cloud looked into Zack's eyes, lips parted but he couldn't think of what to say. His gaze drifted down to Zack's lips, he licked his own as Zack leaned in. “I'd do it all again if it meant you'd live.” He breathed against Cloud's lips. “I never...never got the chance before I died but I-”  
  
Cloud cut him off, pressing his lips to Zack's. He closed his eyes, lifting his hands to cup Zack's face. Zack smiled against Cloud's mouth, his hands moving to Cloud's hair. He felt Cloud's lips part in invitation and took it eagerly. Cloud was warm against him, his skin and hair baby soft. “Zack.” Cloud's breath hitched when they finally drew away, his eyes opened slowly like he was dreaming and was afraid to wake up. He ran a gloved thumb over Zack's bottom lip, eyes devouring Zack's face hungrily like it would be the last time he could look. “I-”  
  
“We've got company!”  
  
Zack cursed, looking up as Angeal came striding towards them. He pointed up into the sky and Zack and Cloud parted reluctantly, following the direction of his finger. In the air was a familiar ship, searching for a decent place to land. Cloud leapt to his feet, “That's them. It's Cid's ship.”   
  
The Shera landed in a large clearing, Cloud and Zack ran to meet it. They waited as a small group of people exited and started up the short slope to where Cloud waited. Tifa broke away from the group, running towards them. She reached Cloud and flung her arms around him. Cloud's eyes widened briefly in surprise before he held her back, a little awkwardly as she pressed her face into his chest. “Tifa,” He said roughly, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her back, “You ok? What happened to Marlene?”  
  
Tifa looked up at him, “She's safe. She went to Wutai.”  
  
Cloud let out a slow breath, “Good. The others?”  
  
“They're all here.”  
  
They waited for the others to catch up, surrounding them in a loose semi-circle. Tifa stepped back and stood at Cloud's side as everyone exchanged greetings. “So, Spikey, what's the plan?” Barett folded his huge arms across his chest, glancing at Zack briefly.  
  
“I spoke with Tseng a few days ago, he said he was going to gather the Turks and meet us here. The more people we have the better.”  
  
“So, we're bringin' the war to them, huh?” Cid shifted, a cigarette clamped between his teeth. He bent his head and lit it, blowing smoke into the air.  
  
Cloud nodded, “We haven't got a choice. If we wait for them to find us, we'll be massacred.”   
  
“Is it just you two here?” Vincent asked, eyes lingering in the distance. He frowned a little, finally meeting Cloud's gaze, “Hm. No. He's back.” He pulled his cloak further around himself.  
  
“Who's back?” Cid glanced between them before he saw the look on Cloud's face, “Aw, shit. God damn it kid, you can't catch a break.”  
  
Cloud managed a small, humourless smile, “Yeah, seems that way.” He said, folding his arms, “He's not a threat right now, I don't know why but he hasn't actually...done anything. I don't know what his plans are but they can wait. Right now we've got to focus on the bigger picture.”  
  
“The United Front.” Tifa nodded but her hands clenched into fists.  
  
“They've got an army, how're we 'sposed to go up against that?” Cid asked, shaking his head.  
  
“We go take the fight to them! Blast them all the way to hell an' back!” Barrett lifted his gun arm threateningly.  
  
“A smaller team could do a lot of damage if we can infiltrate their headquarters.” Zack said, speaking up for the first time.  
  
“I like this guy.” Barett said with an approving nod, “Thinks like a real leader.”  
  
Cloud frowned thoughtfully, “If it's just us? We'd all be killed but...” He looked back up the hill to the cottage, “You think they'd help?” He looked at Zack who grimaced.  
  
“I don't know, Cloud. Sephiroth outright refused, he says it's not his war. Angeal...well, he won't do any fighting since he's...well...you know, different and Genesis...he'd do it but it'd be pretty bad. He doesn't know when to hold back.”  
  
“I...might be able to get Sephiroth to do something.” Cloud said, mostly to himself before he looked up to see his friends looking at him. “If I get myself captured, he'd have to come rescue me. I'm...important to him somehow.”   
  
“That's _the_ stupidest idea I've ever heard.” Yuffie scoffed, shaking her head, “Your martyr complex is showing, Cloud.”  
  
“Martyr complex?” Cloud frowned, “I don't have a-”  
  
“Enough. You're not going to get yourself caught, Cloud.” Tifa said with a finality that made Zack smile.  
  
“In that case, we wait for the Turks. They have more intel.” Zack said, putting a hand on Cloud's shoulder. “You guys can set up camp here, you can't be seen from the air with all these trees around and you've got the cliff at your back.” He jerked a thumb towards the ridge.  
  
“What about the airship?” Cid waved back towards the Shera, “She's practically a beacon.”  
  
Zack scanned the area briefly, “There's a group of pretty tall cliffs just a few miles east of here. They'll be enough cover, at least from the ground. If the United Front have airships of their own...well, we'll find out I guess.”  
  
Cid nodded thoughtfully, “The only airships I know of are owned by the WRO, Reeve's got 'em down in Junon. Doubt they'd be able to get their hands on any...even if they did, there ain't enough Mako to run 'em nowadays. The Shera's powered by good ol' fashioned oil.”  
  
“That's good. Gives us a small advantage.” Zack nodded, “We have control of the air.”  
  
Finally Cid and Barett returned to the Shera to unload some supplies and tents, while they waited Tifa watched Zack and Cloud. They stood close to one another, Zack leaning down to mutter something to Cloud. She frowned but before she could mention it Vincent shifted, turning in the direction of the trees. He pulled his gun, aiming it in the direction of some bushes as they rustled. Cloud and Zack drew their own weapons while Tifa lifted her fists. They waited until finally someone dressed in a dark suit stepped out of the shadows.  
  
“Woah! I'm a friend! We're looking for someone named...Cloud Strife?”   
  
Cloud stepped forward a pace, “That's me.” He said, recognising the suit. “You're a Turk?”  
  
The man nodded, he had a sword at his belt but it wasn't drawn, his hands were raised, “Yeah, I was sent ahead to scout out the area. Tseng told us you knew we were coming.”  
  
“Yeah he did. Name's Zack Fair,” Zack smiled, moving forward with his hand extended. The Turk glanced down at it before hesitantly lifting his own.  
  
“Balto.” He said, shaking Zack's hand.

  
  


“So...where are the others?” Zack looked behind the man just as several more dark suited figures emerged.  
  
A smaller woman moved into the clearing, her eyes fixed on Zack. Her mouth opened and closed a few times before she shook her head, “You're really alive.” She whispered.  
  
“Cissnei?” Zack grinned, “Hey, long time.”  
  
“Zack.” She breathed, suddenly running forward and flinging her arms around him. Zack stumbled backwards but managed to regain his balance. He laughed and pushed her away from him.  
  
“Yeah, it's me.”   
  
“I can't believe it. When I heard you'd died...I...” Cissnei shook her head, wiping at her eyes.   
  
“It's ok,” Zack patted her shoulder gently, “I know you tried, Cissnei.”  
  
She sniffed and nodded as more and more Turks joined them. An older man approached them, “Hello, you must be...Zack Fair SOLDIER first class?” He asked, holding out his hand to shake Zack's, “Tseng told me a lot about you.”  
  
Zack smiled, “Yeah uh...I don't think we've met before.”  
  
“No. I'm Veld, maybe you've heard my name.”  
  
“Veld...? Director of the Turks?”  
  
“A long time ago, yes.” Veld said, his eyes swept over Cloud and Tifa before landing on Vincent. He froze. Slowly he took a few hesitant steps forward, “Vince?” He breathed, eyes wide as he took in the red cape, the long hair and deathly pale skin.  
  
“Veld...” Vincent replied, “It's been a long time.”  
  
“You died. They said...” Veld took a breath, “We lost contact with you when you were at Nibelheim, I was...told you were KIA.”  
  
Vincent turned his face into his collar, “They lied.” He said.  
  
“You haven't...aged.” Veld moved closer, peering into Vincent's face, “Gods...you look exactly the same as you did back then. Vincent, it's been years.”  
  
“Hojo.” Vincent replied stiffly, knowing it was all the answer he needed to give. Veld turned pale and he shook his head.  
  
“I always suspected but...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never searched for you.”  
  
“I don't blame you. You had a wife, you had to prioritise her. Looking into my disappearance would have only caused you trouble.”  
  
Veld nodded but the guilt remained etched into the lines of his face, “It's good to see you again.” He said finally. He blinked and turned back to Zack and Cloud, “We didn't come alone.” He said, managing a small smile. The clearing slowly began to fill as more and more people arrived, not all of them Turks.  
  
Zack's eyes widened as he watched people come with bags and children, many of them had the tell-tale glow in their eyes of the enhanced. “SOLDIER's?!” He grinned, “How many did you find?”  
  
“Not as many as we'd hoped.” Veld said, his face falling, “The United Front thinned your numbers.”  
  
“Zack! Zack is that you?! ZACK!”  
  
Zack jumped at the sound of his name, he saw someone moving through the crowd, pushing past a group of women. His eyes widened and he broke into a run. Zack met the other man half-way, throwing his arms around him tightly. “Kunsel!” He gasped.  
  
“They...they told me you were dead! They said...they said you'd been k-killed.” Kunsel sobbed, gripping Zack's shirt tightly in his fists. “Shit man. I mourned you. You're...really alive. I didn't want to believe them when they told me...”  
  
“I'm alive, man.” Zack whispered, gritting his teeth against the burn in his eyes. “I'm sorry. I couldn't...tell you. I couldn't reply to any of your messages. I'm so sorry.”  
  
Kunsel pulled away to look into Zack's face, he grinned shakily, tears pouring down his cheeks. He shook his head, grasping Zack around the back of the head, “No I get it. You couldn't reply, they could've tracked you. I...I'm just...so glad to see you.”  
  
Zack laughed wetly and dragged Kunsel back into a hug, “I missed you.”


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am putting a warning here for non-con. I will update the tags to reflect the change. Thank you to everyone who's reading, I hope you continue to enjoy my fic. Also, recommended listening; Price of Freedom (CC soundtrack) for the parts with Zack in them and Those Chosen by the Planet for the Sephiroth bits (one of my fave pieces of music from the ff7 compilation. It's so dark and intense and just...sums up Sephiroth for me).

“Our forces are all gathered in this area,” Veld pointed to the map, tapping it with one gloved finger. “There's women, children and SOLDIER's all mixed together.”  
  
Cloud crouched nearby, frowning down at the map. He shook his head and rose, looking out the open door of the cottage, “We have to move them. We can't have families here, It's too dangerous.”  
  
“We need supplies too. Enough to support everyone.” Zack added, tapping his thumb thoughtfully against his lower lip. “Know anyone who could help?”  
  
Veld hummed, “I'm not sure.”   
  
“I would suggest Cosmo Canyon.” Tseng said, leaning against a wall with his arms folded, “We could establish communications easily enough through your friend, Cloud...the-uh...animal.”  
  
“Nanaki...yeah, maybe they could help. Any word on the United Front's movements in that area?” Cloud asked.  
  
“Our scouts spotted small groups moving around but none have made their way into the canyon itself. Likely they don't deem them a threat.” Tseng replied, “But if I know the people there they won't work with the UF.”  
  
“No, they wouldn't.” Cloud sighed, “We need to establish contact with the leaders of Cosmo Canyon, try and get them on our side before the United Front can get a foothold there. Then, we need to ship all the families to Wutai, it's the safest place for them. Tifa?” Tifa looked up, offering a smile, “Can you contact Reeve? He'll be able to get us transports for the civilians.”   
  
“Yeah, sure.” She nodded.  
  
“And set up some kinda mess area, if we pool whatever supplies everyone has together we can ration it. We can't afford to run out of food, not in a place like this.” Tifa nodded and stepped past him, taking a moment to squeeze his arm before leaving.   
  
“I can send someone to Cosmo Canyon,” Tseng said, “Most of my men are considered dead, their faces aren't known to the United Front; if they don't go in uniform they'll be just another person seeking refuge.”  
  
“Do it.” Cloud agreed with a nod, Tseng followed Tifa out the door.   
  
“What do we do while they're sorting all that out?” Zack asked, stretching out his legs on the floor.  
  
“We wait.” Cloud shrugged, “We can't risk making any moves until the area's clear of civilians.”  
  
“Yeah, makes sense. I just...hate all this waiting.” Zack groaned, falling backwards and putting his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling.  
  
“I'll go see if Tseng needs a hand,” Veld said and rose, knees clicking. He winced, “I'm getting too old for this.” He sighed and nodded to the others as he left.  
  
Zack sighed and watched Cloud move across the room, “Hey, come here,” He beckoned and Cloud frowned a little but he went, taking Zack's hand and allowing him to pull him to his knees. “You ok? You sound...distant.”  
  
Cloud nodded, hair bobbing as he turned his gaze away, “I'm fine.”  
  
“Huh, you know when you lie you get a little line between your eyebrows.” Zack reached out and pressed his thumb to the divot between Cloud's brows. He grinned when Cloud scoffed and brushed him away.  
  
“Oh because you know me so well,” He rolled his eyes as Zack sat up, bringing their faces closer.  
  
“Yeah I do.” Zack ran his thumb over Cloud's lower lip, gaze flicking between them and Cloud's eyes, “I know you better than you think, Cloud.”  
  
“Uh-huh.” Cloud leaned closer, head tilting as his nose brushed Zack's. Their breath mingled and he put his hand on Zack's upper thigh. “What else do you know about me?”  
  
“Hm,” Zack hummed thoughtfully, “That you hate spicy food,” He grinned when Cloud's lips twitched in a small smile, “That you get sick not just on vehicles but also carnival rides.”  
  
“When did I tell you that?”   
  
“I think it was...on the way back from Modeoheim. After I lost Angeal. You were trying to distract me I think...and yourself because you were pretty green.”  
  
Cloud huffed, “I don't remember.”  
  
“What do you remember?”  
  
Cloud looked away, moving back a little as he sat down properly on the floor. “Not much. I remember you telling me you'd never leave me...”  
  
“We're friends, right?” Zack smiled.  
  
Cloud flushed and looked away, “Yeah.” He said. “I remember...Nibelheim. The ash...the smoke. The...the smell of burning bodies.” He closed his eyes, a hand rising to his temple. “I remember...him.”  
  
Zack looked away, “Kinda hard to forget. What about...after that? The mansion.”  
  
Cloud shook his head again, “Sorry.”  
  
“No it's fine. It's probably better that you don't remember that.”  
  
Cloud searched Zack's face intently for a moment before reaching out, he cupped Zack's jaw with both hands and turned his head so they were looking at each other, “What did he do to us?” He whispered, “What am I blocking out?”  
  
Zack took hold of Cloud's wrists and slowly drew his hands away, “You don't wanna know.” He muttered, leaning in to press a kiss to Cloud's lips, “Just let it go,”  
  
“Zack...”  
  
Zack rose, shaking his own head, “It'll be fine, Cloud. I just gotta go see Kunsel.”   
  
Cloud hesitated as Zack walked through the door before he leapt to his feet and ran after him, “Zack!” He called into the darkness. Evening had come and the stars were out, spreading above them. Distantly he could hear the camp below, people laughing, people talking and shouting to one another. He ran on, looking for Zack's silhouette. He looked to his left and ran right into something solid, he jerked back. “Sorry I-” He hesitated, gaze rising to find himself staring into a pair of familiar green eyes. Cloud's heart leapt into his throat, he swallowed, eyes wide.  
  
Sephiroth looked down at him, lips curling upwards into a small smile. He stepped around Cloud and walked back towards the cottage. Cloud glanced to the small woodland that Zack had disappeared into, chewing his lip he looked back to see Sephiroth go behind the cottage, into shadow. Finally Cloud took a breath and shook his head, fingers touching the hilt of his sword as he turned on his heel and followed Sephiroth.  
  
He found him waiting, leaning against the wall of the cottage with his arms folded across his chest and his head bowed. Cloud took a few hesitant steps closer before halting, “What do you want?” He demanded, shifting so that he had easy access to his sword if he needed it.  
  
“We haven't had a chance to talk.” Sephiroth said, lifting his head and fixing Cloud with his penetrative stare.   
  
“What if I don't wanna talk?”  
  
Sephiroth tilted his head, hair sliding over his shoulder, “Oh? Then why did you follow me?”  
  
Cloud opened his mouth but shut it again with a snap. He pressed his lips into a firm line.  
  
Sephiroth laughed, the sound low and soft and sent a shiver down Cloud's spine, “Predictable, Cloud. You've always been so predictable.” He lifted a hand, arm out and beckoned Cloud closer.  
  
“What do you want? Why did you come back?” Cloud asked and it took him too long to realise he was moving. He forced himself to stop a few feet from Sephiroth who seemed to find his rebellion amusing.  
  
“What do I want, Cloud?” Sephiroth looked upwards towards the stars, “To travel the stars with this-”  
  
“Cut the shit, Sephiroth!” Cloud demanded, slashing a hand through the air. “If you really wanted that, why not kill me back when you had the chance?”  
  
“You misunderstand, Cloud. I have never wanted you dead.”  
  
“But-”  
  
Sephiroth shook his head slowly, “Our connection runs too deep. Whether you like it or not, we are bound to one another.”  
  
“No.” Cloud shook his head, taking a step backwards. Sephiroth approached, boots crunching over fallen leaves and rocks. He lifted a hand, brushing his knuckles down Cloud's cheek, his gloves were cool against his skin.  
  
“I know you, Cloud. I know your hearts deepest desires. If you really hated this connection, you could have severed it long ago.”  
  
“Stop it.” Cloud breathed, eyes locked on Sephiroth's as he leaned down, cupping his cheek with one hand. Silver hair slid down, blocking out the cottage and the sky until all Cloud could see were those sparkling green eyes. “S-Stop...”  
  
“You can't let me go. You lost most of your memories and yet you remembered me,”   
  
Cloud lifted his hand, fingers brushing his own chest where the scars Sephiroth had left him lingered, “You made sure I'd never forget you.” He muttered, breath catching in his throat as Sephiroth's hand slid down his cheek to his throat. Sephiroth looked down to where Cloud's fingers lingered, his smile widened. “You burned yourself into my skin.” Cloud's eyes fluttered closed, lips parting as Sephiroth's thumb caressed the dip of his throat.  
  
“I'll always be with you, Cloud. You know that. Try as much as you like you don't _want_ to forget me.”  
  
Cloud managed a small shake of his head, eyes opening a crack as Sephiroth's thumb pressed harder against his neck.   
  
“Your friends don't see it. Zack doesn't see it...they're blind to the darkness inside you, Cloud.”   
  
Cloud felt the press of the wall against his back, he struggled to suck in a whole breath as Sephiroth tightened his grip. He could smell flowers and vanilla, the world condensed to just the two of them.  
  
“I have only ever tried to make you strong.” Sephiroth continued, pressing closer to Cloud, “You despised the people of your town, you hated Shinra...you and I, Cloud, are more similar than you would ever admit.” Sephiroth used his free hand to slowly lower the zip of Cloud's top, revealing scarred flesh. He watched it's movement intently and slipped his hand beneath the fabric as it fell open. Cloud shivered, eyes closing as he sucked in a sharp breath. Sephiroth leaned in, lips brushing Cloud's ear, “You hate them, Cloud. I can see it in your eyes. You want them all dead. Those humans who killed your family. The ones who imprisoned you, _tortured_ you.”  
  
Cloud groaned, shaking his head a little, “No.” He whispered.  
  
“ _Yes_. You are just like me. You revel in destruction, when your blade parts flesh and the blood paints the street...you enjoy it. Watching them scream and try to run. I saw what you did to those men who burned down your friends little bar. I watched as you killed them.”  
  
“Stop it.” Cloud hissed air through his teeth as Sephiroth pressed his lips to the sensitive bit of skin just behind his ear, “I-I don't...I never...”  
  
“Shh, relax. Give yourself to me, Cloud. I made you what you are, I made you _strong_.”  
  
Cloud shivered, eyes opening half way to reveal a sliver of mako green. His lips parted on a breath as Sephiroth leaned down and met them with his own. Cloud slumped against the wall, hands rising shakily to grip the leather of Sephiroth's coat. Sephiroth was all heat, his hand rising to tangle in Cloud's hair, he pulled lightly to tilt his head for a better angle. Cloud moaned into his mouth, pulling Sephiroth closer. He parted his legs so Sephiroth could stand between them and ground his hips against him. Sparks danced across Cloud's skin, his hands shaking as he grabbed a tight fistful of Sephiroth's hair and yanked. Sephiroth laughed into his mouth, pulling Cloud even closer by the hips. He slipped one hand to the crook of Cloud's legs and squeezed, rubbing the heel of his palm against his burgeoning erection. Cloud's head thudded against the wall behind him, he bared his teeth as he pulled away. “B-Bastard.” He gasped, arching his back and snapping his eyes shut.  
  
“You fight me so well, any outsider would easily believe that you didn't want this.”  
  
“Don't.” Cloud panted, curling his fingers around Sephiroth's wrist as he continued to massage his cock through his trousers. “Ah...don't. Stop.” He gasped, his grip tightening.   
  
“Don't pretend, Cloud.”  
  
Cloud's grip slowly relaxed, he closed his eyes and turned his head away. Gasping in sharp lungfuls of crisp night time air. There was the faint tang of Mako on the breeze, he could taste it as Sephiroth continued to move against him. Cloud let Sephiroth turn his head back, he tilted it and met Sephiroth's lips again. Parting his own to accept the tongue. He groaned, reaching up to curl an arm around Sephiroth's shoulders, he held his hand in place and ground against it. Heat curled in his gut, his balls tightened. “Sephiroth...” He gasped, “Sephiroth...”  
  
“Good, Cloud.” Sephiroth whispered, panting Cloud's name into his ear. He ran his tongue slowly over the shell of Cloud's ear and bit down on his earring. Cloud cursed, tensing as he came with a sharp cry. Sephiroth sighed, letting Cloud come back to himself a moment.   
  
Cloud's eyes fluttered open, as green as Sephiroth's own. He licked his lips, pulling away. He leaned against the cottage, running a hand over his mouth. He was pale in the moonlight, hair shining silver instead of gold. “Fuck you.” He panted, reaching down to Sephiroth's trousers. He tugged at the belt, hands shaking as he yanked down the zipper. “I _hate_ you.” He gasped as Sephiroth claimed his mouth once again and he curled his fingers around Sephiroth's own cock.  
  
When it was Sephiroth's turn to come he pulled down Cloud's top, revealing his shoulder then bent his head and bit down on the exposed skin. Cloud jerked against him but he was trapped against the wall. Sephiroth drew away, tongue darting out to lap at the blood coating his lips. He looked into Cloud's eyes and smiled, hand curling around Cloud's throat again. He held him there, searching his face for a moment before he released him with a soft hum. He stepped back, wing bursting from his back and scattering feathers everywhere. “You taste the same as you did back then.” He said, still smiling as he rose into the air.  
  
Cloud watched him go, his hand moving to his shoulder. He pressed down on the shallow wound, wincing at the sting as he slowly sank to the floor, eyes on the stars above as feathers rained down on him.  
  
XXX  
  
Back at the camp Cloud stood on the edge of the light, watching his friends sit around a fire talking. Their silhouette's were painfully familiar. He was reminded of their journey across the world, all the times they would stop and rest. There was a figure missing. Cloud caught a glimpse of her out the corner of his eye, the scent of flowers on the breeze. He took a deep breath and curled his hands into fists at his sides before turning away, preparing to trudge back up the hill to the cottage. However someone called his name. He halted, shoulders tense.  
  
“Cloud!” Tifa ran up to him, “Cloud? Are you...ok?”  
  
Cloud managed to force himself to turn and face her, “I'm fine.” He said automatically and internally winced when she looked at him in disbelief.   
  
“Are you sure?” Tifa frowned, peering up into his face. Cloud turned away, hiding his expression in the collar of his top. “I just wanted to say you could join us, you know?” She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “It's been a while since we've all been together like this, right?” She grabbed Cloud's hand in both her own, “Come on,” She pulled gently, tugging him towards the fire.  
  
“Tifa...” Cloud tried but her smile fell and guilt welled up in his chest. He sighed, “Yeah, sure. Why not?” He said instead, managing a small smile of his own. Tifa nodded, satisfied and dragged him to the fire, sitting him down beside Barett.  
  
“Look who decided to join us!” Barett laughed, slapping Cloud on the back. “Haha, here,” He shoved a bottle of something that smelt like fuel into his hand, “Drink up, Spiky, could be the last time!”  
  
Cloud's nose wrinkled but he obliged, the alcohol burned down his throat and he choked. He bent over, gasping, “What the hell is this?” He wheezed as Tifa patted him on the back and laughed.  
  
“Some of Shera's home brew,” Cid winked, the smoke from his cigarette rising slowly into the air. “It tastes like ass but it'll get ya drunk.”  
  
“Damn right,” Barett agreed, taking the bottle off of Cloud and lifting it into the air as a toast, “To Shera,”  
  
Cid lifted a flask in reply and drank when Barett did. He then turned to offer the flask to Vincent who eyed it like it was about to bite him, “Aww, c'mon Vince...”  
  
Vincent sighed heavily and took the flask, taking a sip. He winced and handed it right back again, “That's disgusting.” He muttered.  
  
Laughter rippled through the group and even Cloud felt a small smile tug at his lips. For a moment the warmth of his friends eased the tension in his chest.  
  
“Hey, lemme try!” Yuffie snatched the bottle off of Barett and took a deep swig. She swallowed and then bent over, coughing and sputtering.  
  
“Don't spill the damn booze!” Barett cried in alarm as he grabbed the bottle back.  
  
“Ugh, yuck. How are you guys even drinking this shit?” Yuffie coughed, wiping her hand over her mouth. “Blech.”  
  
Tifa took her turn and drank from the bottle, she didn't even blink as she handed it back to Cloud, “A lot of practice.” She replied to Yuffie with a smile, head tilted.  
  
“You've all got stomach's of steel, I swear.” Yuffie shook her head.  
  
Cloud sipped, leaning back against a nearby tree. He sat quietly and listened to his friends talk, letting the conversation flow around him like water. An hour or so passed that way until they were interrupted by an arm thrown over Cloud's shoulder. He jerked away, eyes widening as he turned his head to find Zack grinning at him.   
  
“Hey, buddy. What you doin'?” He peered down at the bottle in Cloud's hand, “Can get in on this? Haven't drunk anything since I came back to life.”  
  
Cloud relaxed a little and nodded, handing him the bottle. He watched as Zack finished the little they had left off in one pull. He shivered and made a face, “Oh gross.” He whispered, opening a watery eye and glancing around the group, “Where'd you find this shit?”  
  
“Shera makes the stuff.” Cid shrugged, he had moved to lie on his side, head propped on one hand. “We got plenty more where that came from SOLDIER boy.”  
  
Zack grinned, pushing himself between Cloud and Tifa, “That a challenge? I should warn you I can drink anyone under the table.”  
  
“Oh it's on.” Cid grinned, righting himself and rummaging through an ancient looking back pack he had by his side. There was a round of clinking sounds before he withdrew a second green bottle, yanking the cork out with his teeth. “You're gonna regret that challenge, boy.”  
  
“I doubt it old man.” Zack took the bottle offered him and put it to his lips.  
  
Tifa sighed, leaning back on her hands as she looked up at the sky, “This place...it almost reminds me of-” She cut herself off, glancing over to Cloud who nodded.  
  
“Yeah.” He muttered, taking the bottle that Barett offered him. He drank some more, passing it to Tifa. “You can really see the stars here.”  
  
Tifa hummed in agreement, “Would you ever...go back there, Cloud?”   
  
Cloud scoffed and shook his head, “Got no reason to.”   
  
“I guess that's true.” Tifa stared into the flames a moment, a quiet growing around the small group.  
  
“It's changed.” Vincent said, breaking the quiet. “Nibelheim.” He glanced up to Cloud and Tifa, “I went back.”  
  
“Why?” Tifa asked.  
  
Vincent shrugged a shoulder, “I wanted to see what had happened. It's grown, more people have moved up there since meteorfall.”  
  
“What about the mansion?” Cloud asked, feeling Zack tense at his side.  
  
Vincent watched him for a long moment, his eyes glowing in the shadows, “Crumbling.”  
  
“Let it.” Zack muttered, taking another drink and glaring at the flames, “Someone should burn it down.”  
  
Vincent cocked his head, “Perhaps.”  
  
“I don't think Nibelheim needs anymore fire.” Tifa whispered, drawing her knees to her chest and bowing her head.  
  
“Yeah...sorry.” Zack sighed, shaking his head and finishing his bottle.   
  
“I remember...one time your cat got out, Tifa...” Cloud said suddenly, still staring into the flames before him, as if hypnotised. The alcohol was flowing through his veins, loosening his tongue, “It got into my mom's flowers. She was always moaning about that.”  
  
Tifa laughed, a small smile curling her lips, “He did that a lot.”  
  
“Yeah.” Cloud shifted, pressing himself closer to Zack who put an arm around him, “Your dad hated me.” Tifa looked at him, eyes wide but she didn't speak. “Told me I was dangerous. That I shouldn't go near you, I'd only get you into trouble.”  
  
“Cloud...” Tifa began but Cloud shook his head sharply.  
  
“Most of the town hated me.” He continued, finishing the entire bottle and letting it fall to the floor with a clatter. His frown deepened and he refused to meet anyone's eyes, “Your friends, those kids you hung around with...they were always picking fights. I gave one of them a black eye once and he went crying home to his mom, like he hadn't been the one to start it. My mom would always tell me to stop getting myself into trouble, as if I had a choice. I _hated_ it there.” He finished, pressing his head back against the tree and looking back up at the stars.   
  
Tifa looked away, “It's over now. Everyone's dead.”  
  
“Yeah.” Cloud frowned, eyes on the stars as his friends shifted around him uncomfortably.  
  
Zack put his hand on Cloud's shoulder, squeezing firmly. Cloud grit his teeth against a grunt of pain as the bite on his shoulder throbbed, “You ok, Cloud?” He whispered quietly.  
  
“Fine.” He said and closed his eyes, “Guess I'm just tired.”  
  
Zack released him, nodding, “Back when I was a kid I remember there was this guy, he was a big kid and a bully. He started fights all the time but when he tried it on me I hit him over the head with a rusty pole I found on the ground.” Zack grinned, chuckling to himself, “He was bullying this girl, my friend. I had to do something. He never bullied anyone ever again and we actually became kinda friends. I don't know what happened to him.” He sighed, picking at a new bottle he'd grabbed from Cid. “My mom she-” He cut himself off, “She told me to go apologise, after I did it. She was angry. Tried to tell me violence wasn't the right way...well, guess she should've seen it coming that I'd want to join SOLDIER.” He smiled bitterly, “She tried to stop me so I ran away. Never told them where I was going until I reached Midgar and managed to send them a letter. I don't think she ever really forgave me for that.” He took a deep breath, shaking his head, “I don't even know what happened to them.”  
  
“Maybe you could go home and find out?” Tifa said.  
  
“No.” Zack smiled, a poor imitation of his usual happy grin, “That'd freak them out. They probably think I'm dead anyway, no need to rock the boat...I just...I hope they managed to move on.”  
  
“They're not dead.” Cloud breathed, looking away.   
  
“What?”  
  
“I met them.” He shifted, frowning uncomfortably, “Back when we were searching for Sephiroth, we met them in Gongaga. At the time I didn't know who they were but afterwards...I worked it out.”  
  
Zack blinked, “They're alive? They're...alive.” He looked down at his hands and curled them into fists, “I'm glad. Do you know if they moved on?”  
  
“I don't think you can move on from a loss like that,” Barett replied, shaking his head, “They lost their kid, that's gonna destroy a person.”  
  
Zack rubbed at his eyes, shaking his head, “Shit.” He whispered, lowering his head. “I never thought...I...”  
  
Tifa put a hand on his shoulder, “Maybe you should go see them. Tell them you're alive, they don't need to know the truth.”  
  
Zack breathed in deeply and slowly let it out, “No. No I can't. It'd be stupid, they deserve to live in peace. I can't bring this down on them.”  
  
Tifa nodded and let go of his shoulder. The group fell into silence, only the sounds of the nearby camp and the crackle of flames could be heard.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there, sorry for the long wait but real life got in the way. I hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank to everyone who has left comments and kudos, I really appreciate them all!

Cloud lay on his front, scrubby bushes surrounding his little hide out. He held a rifle, couched firmly against his shoulder as he peered down the length of the barrel. In a small clearing there was a flock of bright yellow chocobo's. Cloud slowly released his breath and touched the trigger.  
  
“You remember how to do this?” Zack whispered from his side.  
  
Cloud felt Zack's eyes on him and he spared him a side-long glance, “Like riding a bike,” He drawled and refocused on his target. A squeeze of the trigger and one of the larger birds went down with a squawk. The others screamed and bolted, fleeing into the wastes. Cloud rose to his knees, smiling as he glanced back at Zack, “Told ya.”  
  
Zack laughed, rising with Cloud and clapping him on the back, “Right, now we've got dinner!” He crowed and started to slide down the low embankment to retrieve their prize.  
  
They reached the dead bird, Zack stood over it with his hands on his hips, “Now...how're we supposed to get it back.”   
  
“Carry it.” Cloud shrugged and together he and Zack hauled the beast up, it's long neck causing some issues before they managed to get it into a comfortable position between them.  
  
“This thing is damn heavy.” Zack wheezed as they started a slow, awkward sort of walk back to their camp site. Cloud frowned but didn't reply as he focussed on not losing his grip. The borrowed rifle was slung across his shoulder where it banged against his back.

  
Half an hour later and they stepped back into the camp, gasping and sweating as they hauled the giant bird to the mess area. Zack dropped his burden with a sigh, “Phew! That is one heavy bird.”  
  
“Should keep us fed for a while,” Cloud agreed, his voice low as he looked down at the yellow feathers laying limply on the grass. A man came over, wiping his hands on a cloth.  
  
“This dinner?” He grunted, glancing down at the bird and back to the two SOLDIER's again.  
  
“Yep,” Zack grinned, “Good luck butchering that.”  
  
The man shrugged and pulled a well honed knife from his belt, “Better 'n livin' off'a mushrooms.” He knelt by the bird and started work.  
  
Cloud moved off, Zack jogging to catch up to him, “I gotta return this.” He indicated the rifle and Zack nodded as he followed Cloud to where they were storing their weapons. He dropped the rifle off and he and Zack turned back to go to the main encampment. Half way there they were halted by Tifa calling their names, she ran over an came to a halt, “Cloud, there's a message for us from Reeve.”  
  
Cloud frowned, “Where?”  
  
“The Shera.” Tifa turned and they followed her over to the huge air ship. They stepped on board and were greeted by Cid who led them to the helm. Sat on a console was a familiar black and white cat, little crown sitting askew on it's head.  
  
“Och, hullo there!” Cait Sith greeted them, tail flicking from side to side as it gazed at them.

“Cait?” Cloud frowned, wondering why Reeve had activated the cat. “What's going on? Does Reeve have a message?” Behind him Barrett and Yuffie arrived, he glanced at them and they exchanged nods of greeting.

Cait went eerily still for a full minute before Reeve's voice came from the robots mouth. He cleared his throat before speaking. “I'm contacting you to let you all know that The United Front have managed to infiltrate my Junon offices.” His voice was tight and they could all hear the sounds of gun fire in the background.

Cloud's eyes widened, he felt Tifa tense by his side as Cid swore loudly. “Get outta there ya stupid fuck!” Cid spat, eyes narrowing.

Reeve's tense laughter was short and sharp, a brief moment of static almost drowned out his next words. “I'm trapped. I can't escape.”

“Wait for me I can-”

Reeve cut Vincent off mid-sentence. “You'll never make it in time...even with Chaos.”

Vincent took a sharp breath. “I won't simply sit here and-”

“You have no _choice_.” Reeve replied, taking a shuddery breath. “I knew the risks I was taking when I refused to go into hiding, I ignored your advice and I will take the consequences.”

“Reeve...” Tifa trailed off, one hand rising to her mouth as she watched Cait's unmoving body.

There was loud thud and they could hear coarse shouts. “They're in the stairwell.” Reeve whispered, another thump and more static before Reeve cleared his throat again. “I've barricaded myself in my office but they'll get through eventually...I'm not a fighter...I can't even hope-”

“There has to be something you can do!” Cloud demanded, leaning forward and slamming his hands down on the control panel Cait was sitting in. “What about your WRO soldiers?”

“D-Dead...all of them...” Reeve took another deep breath. “I contacted you to give you all fair warning; they know where you are. They know you've all gathered together. You need to go into hiding before they come. Too many people have joined them now, you can't fight them with so little power. Cloud, with my death they will take over. The world is going to change and people like you are going to be in terrible danger. They've built camps all over the planet, I found some of them...it's...not pretty. They've taken some of the tainted there, treated them like prisoners. They're tortured and experimented on all on the pretence of 'finding a cure' for their abnormalities.”

Cloud's mouth fell open and he turned wide eyes onto Zack who looked equally as horrified. “How did they do all this in such a short space of time?”

“They've been doing it in secret for some months now, not long after the Deepground incident. I had my people look into it and they stole some important documents from the Deepground base, even finding a body...” He trailed off as more shouts and a few more gun shots filled the silence.

“A body?” Cloud frowned and looked at Vincent who was gazing thoughtfully at the wall.

“Reeve...whose body did they find?”

Reeve laughed weakly, he sounded like he was trying not to let the fear creep into his voice. “Weiss.” He said weakly. “He's...still alive.”

Vincent tensed. “What does that mean?”

“I don't know. I'm sorry I couldn't find anything more out...They're in the corridor now, I'm running out of time. When I die-”

“Oh Reeve...” Tifa gasped, her voice hitching and her eyes filling with tears.

“When I die,” Reeve repeated shakily. “Cait Sith will self-destruct. He won't damage anything but there might be a little pop, I put in the sequence to prevent anyone stealing any information he has collected over the years from his database. You needn't worry about that.”

“Reeve, isn't there anything we can do?” Cloud whispered hoarsely, lowering his head as his fingers slowly curled into fists. He closed his eyes as Reeve laughed humourlessly.

“No. This is the end. I expected it to come much sooner if I'm quite honest...Cloud?”

“Y-yeah?”

“You're a good kid, I hope you find happiness.”

Cloud bit down hard on his lower lip and took a shuddery breath. “I'm sorry.”

“Don't be. It's a risk I had to take...if nothing else my life has at least meant something. I helped save the world, didn't I?”

“Yeah, you did.” Cloud whispered.

Reeve's smile could be heard in his voice, even as the sounds of someone breaking down a door almost drowned out his next words; “Thank you, for everything.”

The door caved in with a loud crash. There was the muffled sound of voices before a sudden, violent barrage of gun fire. Tifa gasped and turned away, eyes snapping shut. Barret stood stock still, mouth twisted and hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. Cid lowered his head and walked away a little, gazing out over the horizon, pink light flooded the helm of the ship and stained everything it touched. Cloud twitched, turning away from the stuffed cat as it started to fizz, it's body twitching violently as if it felt every single bullet it's master had taken.

Vincent stared at Cait Sith for a moment before lowering his head, he closed his eyes and when he opened them again Cait was lying slumped against the monitors, his glassy eyes staring blindly into space. He reached out and closed the cats eyelids, a pathetic attempt at respect considering his friends body was out of reach. He swept his cloak tightly around his body, hiding his face in the cowl as he turned and stalked silently from the room.

“R-Reeve's...dead...” Yuffie whispered, eyes wide and disbelieving.

Cloud took a deep breath, steadying himself. He straightened his shoulders and turned to his friends, there was a hardness in his eyes that made Tifa's spine tingle. “New plan.” He said, moving to the huge window and gazing out over the hills. “Reeve was right...with him dead we can't fight them anymore.” He shook his head and lowered it, staring at his hands as they curled around the metal railing before him. “We need to get to the Lost City as soon as possible, we can hide there, set up some sort of base at least. From there we need operatives scattered throughout the planet to guide potential victims to our main base. There'll be refugees now, maybe more than we can handle but we have to help them.”

“We should have someone stationed in each major town an' city.” Barret said in a stiff voice.

Cloud nodded. “Contact Nanaki, he'll be a big help. They won't have any interest in him.”

“I'll do it.” Yuffie said, sniffing and wiping her eyes on her sleeve. She pulled out her PHS and walked away to contact one of Nanaki's friends in Cosmo Canyon.

XXX A year later XXX  
  
Zack crawled through the dense under-brush, eyes narrowed as he led his team forward. He heard someone stumble and curse, it took a lot to force himself not to wince as he turned and pressed a black-gloved finger against his lips. He sent an angry glare at the guy who lifted his hands in apology. Zack was dressed from head-to-toe in black, he had a half-mask pulled up over the lower half of his face and had smeared dirt over the visible skin. The only thing giving him away were his glowing eyes, but he could do nothing about that. Even the Buster Sword had been treated with boot-black so that it didn't reflect light so easily. He crouched low to the ground, leading his fellows closer to the building that had been marked as a storage house for those tainted by Jenova. Their mission was to rescue anyone inside and then blow the place up, simple but it had to be done stealthily to avoid alerting the main force of the United Front. They moved in virtual silence before coming to a halt at the top of a ravine, below them was a tower with several spot lights on top, searching the grounds around it. Guards walked the top of the tower and the perimeter, it appeared that they weren't taking any chances, not since Cloud and his team had taken out five other similar places within the past few months. Zack had to admit that Barret knew what he was doing when it came to terrorism. He lifted a gloved hand and gave the signal to halt, with a few soft rustles his team did as ordered. Now, all he had to do was await the signal.

Gareth knew that being on guard duty was his punishment but he found that it wasn't so bad, he liked being outdoors and the stars were bright this evening. He whistled lightly as he adjusted his rifle, walking carefully around the outskirts of the razor wire fence that enclosed the small compound. He paused briefly, looking to his right and out into the dense undergrowth, he had thought he had heard something but after a moment he put it down to his imagination. There had been a rise in the numbers of attacks on compounds such as this one since The United Front had killed the WRO leader and taken over running the world, they were done by monsters, according to their esteemed leader. Monsters who had been presumed dead many years ago and were now walking the earth once again, it all gave him the creeps if he was honest with himself. He sighed heavily and adjusted his dark navy blue uniform before raising a foot to move on again. He didn't get far as a small shadow seemed to plummet from the sky and land right before him, he froze in shock and found himself looking down into a pair of dark eyes. The small face was half-covered by a dark scarf and the person had an impressive array of weaponry adorning their small frame. Slowly they rose, and before Gareth could react a small blade was plunged into his throat. He fell back, gurgling and grasping uselessly for the tiny figure who caught him on his way down so his fall made no sound. The figure rose again, eyes darting left and right before they put a hand to an invisible ear-piece. “All three guards are dead, Zack-y-boy; it's your turn.” Yuffie whispered, grinning beneath her mask before she faded out of sight again.

Zack smiled as Yuffie's voice entered his ear. He lifted a hand and made a 'come on' gesture before he started to head down a narrow, sloping path towards the enemy base. His men followed in silence. They reached the edge of the compound and Zack dug in his pocket while he crouched by the fence, two of his men turned outward to face the clinging shadows as lookouts while he set to cutting through the vicious wire. He poked his tongue between his teeth as he worked, making a large enough hole to accommodate all of his six-foot-plus height and massive bulk as well as the others with him. When he had one large enough he signalled for his team to go through. “Go, go, go.” He hissed, stepping aside and allowing them room to wiggle through the breach. He watched until all five of them were through before following himself, he left one man outside to stand guard while they went about securing the tower.

XXX  
  
Cloud ran his fingers through his hair, gazing down in consternation at the map spread before him. On it little lights flickered and blinked, each one representing one of the seven teams they had sent out to several locations where refugees were being imprisoned and tortured. It had been a year since the devastating death of Reeve and as soon as they had heard the bad news Sephiroth and his friends had all agreed to Cloud's plan of fleeing to the Forgotten City. The once desolate place now housed over a thousand individuals, some of them had families with them including children as young as two. It was difficult work providing enough food for them to survive as well as keeping up an enhanced, well-supplied army and the logistics of it all baffled Cloud. He left all that in the far more experienced hands of some of the other older SOLDIER's, who were used to dealing with such things. Luckily they did not want for shelter, there were enough empty houses for most of the people there and if not there was plenty of building material around to forge a half-decent shelter.

His tired eyes moved once again to the little dot on the holographic map that indicated Zack's team, they were situated just outside Cosmo Canyon where the United Front had dared set up one of their imprisonment camps, unfortunately for them Cosmo Canyon's residents were actively opposed to their violent take over and had refused all attempts at friendship. They weren't exactly on Cloud's side either, considering most of the residents were pacifists and hated the idea of violence. However, because of his close friendship with their guardian Nanaki, they had agreed to help provision the refugees with as much food and other supplies that they could spare. It was far from perfect but they were coping, for now.   
  
He watched the map for a moment longer, glad that the SOLDIER remnants included people who were expert military engineers and had set up high-tech systems that allowed command-base to track the movements of their operatives. Of course, having a close working relationship with what remained of the Turks helped immensely too. Thanks to Veld and Tseng's impressive skills they now had an intricate spy-network in place that fed them as much information as humanly possible. Vincent was a god-send, his incredible skills were a huge advantage over The United Front, none of them had ever heard of him, no one knew what he could do and he had become something of a horror-style legend to the members of the current government. People told tales of a man-beast whose claws could rend metal as if it were water, they spoke of a demon that came in the night and ate the hearts of anyone it came across, they told of a strange crimson robed creature with deathly pale skin and eyes that burned with Ifrit's flames, Vincent despised these childish stories but Cid found them hilarious, despite their terrible inaccuracies. Cloud was pretty certain Chaos didn't go around eating human hearts...at least he hoped not. He sighed and closed his eyes, a little worried by the effort it took to re-open them again as a huge, jaw-cracking yawn escaped him.

“Cloud?”  
  
Cloud looked up to see Tifa enter the room, a smile on her face and a small package in her hands. “Tifa.” He nodded in greeting.  
  
“I brought you something to eat,” She placed the wrapped package on the table and eyed the flashing dots, “Are you ok?”  
  
“I'm fine.” Cloud frowned as he picked up the package and opened it, steamed vegetables and rice. The smell made his stomach cramp, reminding him that he hadn't eaten since breakfast, “Thanks,” He said, nodding to the food as he picked up the fork Tifa had included and started to eat.  
  
“You're worried about Zack, aren't you?” Tifa tilted her head, watching Cloud eat.  
  
“I...” Cloud stared down at his food and sighed, “A bit.” He admitted.  
  
“He's a trained SOLDIER, right? He'll be fine.”  
  
“I know. I just...” He shook his head, a small, humourless smile curling his lips, “I don't know. I'm being stupid, I know that.”  
  
Tifa shook her head, “It's not stupid to worry about someone you care about.” She replied, sitting on the edge of the table as Cloud finished his food and set the container aside. “Why don't you get some rest? I'll stay here and keep on eye on things.”  
  
Cloud considered her for a moment before finally rising, “Thanks, Tifa.”  
  
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand as he passed her.  
  
Cloud made his way back towards his own shelter, he didn't like to call it a house; it was a simple structure of rough wooden walls and a corrugated metal roof that kept out the light rain that fell in the forest. It was situated on the banks of the large lake where he had laid Aerith to rest, he liked the peace and quiet as no one else dared to live so close to what they deemed hallowed ground. Tifa herself had taken up living with Barret back in the village itself, although she did visit regularly with food to make sure he and Zack weren't starving to death. Cloud paused on the edge of the lake, his tired, itching eyes landing on a small bouquet of white flowers that had been left on the pebbles. As soon as he saw them he knew Zack had left them there, among other offerings. He went into the small shelter and dropped back onto the bed, he lay there, gazing up at the ceiling until his eyes became too heavy to keep open.  
  
He awoke during the night bathed in sweat, his heart hammered in his chest and his body was racked by shudders. He swallowed, dry throat clicking as he rolled to the side of the bed and grabbed for the glass of water he kept there. He took a deep swig and closed his eyes, images flashed behind them like a slide-show of horror; he saw Nibelheim in flame, he saw Hojo's laughing face behind a veil of acidic green, he saw Sephiroth falling from the sky with his blade pointed towards Aerith's kneeling form. Again he swallowed hard, jaw working painfully as he ground his teeth together, his eyes opened and he straightened up.

The sheet covering him was damp, sweat trickled over his bared chest, running over the myriad of scars that scattered his pale skin. Cloud set aside his drink and slid out of bed, he was naked as he rose and walked out of the small hut beneath the cold stars. He looked around, eyes lingering on the shell-like building where he had seen Aerith die, he shivered as the sweat dried on his flesh, making it crawl uncomfortably. He forced his eyes away and walked down to the edge of the lake, his toes dipping in the cold water. He walked into it until he was waist deep and scooped up a handful of fresh water before splashing it over his head and neck, with a sigh he tilted his head back and looked up at the sky.

As Cloud stood in the water an abrupt pain went through his head, like a tiny blade being driven straight into his brain. A gasp escaped his parted lips and he slapped both hands to his head in a vain attempt to keep the agony at bay. He shuddered violently as the pain faded as rapidly as it had come, slowly his hands fell away from his head and he turned to look over his shoulder. A shadow stood on the shore, watching him from green glowing eyes. The rustle of feathers adjusting brought goosebumps to Cloud's skin and he hid another shiver. “Sephiroth.” Cloud whispered, the name slipping past his lips like satin, it tasted somewhat bitter but it was familiar at least.

Sephiroth's lips twitched upward into a small, cruel smirk as he glided forward and stepped into the waters. The ripples he created as he strode inexorably towards his prey spread outwards until they touched the shore. Cloud didn't move a muscle as Sephiroth finally approached and lay a gentle hand on his shoulder, slowly he ran it up Cloud's neck and used his fingers to guide his head back so he was looking upwards. “So beautiful.” Sephiroth whispered into his ear, eliciting yet another shiver, although this one for an entirely different reason. Sephiroth chuckled, the sound spreading over Cloud's skin like a silken blanket as he found himself leaning backwards against Sephiroth's broad chest. The gloved fingers under his chin slid downwards, every inch forcing another stuttering breath from Cloud's lungs. “I've been waiting a long time to get you alone like this, my puppet. Perhaps now that your guard dog is away we can have some fun.”

“Don't.” Cloud whispered, eyes closing tightly and shutting out the stars. “Not here.”

“Oh?” The smirk could be heard in Sephiroth's low voice. “Wouldn't the Ancient be pleased to see us working together? Aren't we doing exactly what she wished by helping to eliminate yet another threat to her precious planet and its...citizens?”

“You killed her. You're...you're a monster.” Cloud breathed, lips peeling back from his teeth as he sought to remind himself of the horrors the man at his back had committed.

Long hair caressed the skin of Cloud's shoulders and sides, he swallowed as Sephiroth shifted, leaning down to run his tongue slowly, oh so slowly up the side of Cloud's vulnerable throat. “I know what I am, Cloud, the question is do you know what you are?” He chuckled again as he moved his other hand between himself and Cloud, using a single finger to trace a certain spot on Cloud's right shoulder blade.

Cloud's face twisted at the touch, abruptly he stepped forward, water swirling around him as he lowered his head and lifted his own hand to cover the spot where Sephiroth's fingers had left a tingling sensation. “Don't touch me. Go away, Sephiroth.”

“So cold.” Sephiroth replied with a small smile, his eyes lingering on Cloud's moonlit skin. He himself was still fully dressed, his coat spread around him and his hair dragged through the lake like strange silver weeds. “You can't lie to me, Cloud. I know you better, perhaps, than you know yourself. You want me, you have done since the day you joined ShinRa.” Sephiroth tilted his head, smile lingering on pale lips as he lifted a hand from the water, sending sparkling droplets back into the main body. “Come to me and I can make you forget all about those nightmares. You belong to me, Cloud, it's simply a matter of accepting what you truly are.”

Cloud snorted softly, looking back at Sephiroth over his shoulder once again. The moonlight caught his eyes and they shone as brightly green as Sephiroth's own. “What I am? What Hojo made me, you mean?”

“It's all a matter of semantics.” Sephiroth sighed, “Soon, you will see that you are just like me...and when that day comes I will be there to watch you fall.”

“It won't happen.”

“Hm. We will see.” Sephiroth's wing burst outward, sending water spattering the surface of the lake like rain. Cloud watched as Sephiroth leapt smoothly into the sky and hovered above him for a moment, smiling down at him like a huge bird of prey. Cloud turned, blinking as Sephiroth flew away with a few more beats of his wing, leaving behind nothing but the sound of the wind through the trees and Cloud's own heavy breathing.

  
XXX

Zack lifted a heavy boot and kicked the door, it burst inwards with a shower of splinters. From inside a few people screamed and a child began to cry. Zack and his team stepped into the large room; it resembled a warehouse with a high ceiling and steel girders but, instead of stored items, it was full of people. Slowly they began to stand from where they had been sat, suspicious eyes lingering on the group of dark-clad soldiers. Zack pulled down his face mask, revealing a face spattered with mud and dried blood. The compound had been heavily guarded on the inside and the fighting had been brutal, Zack's honour wouldn't allow him to kill indiscriminately however, sometimes it couldn't be avoided and he had done his fair share of murder. He forced a smile on his lips as his men stepped away from the door, leaving it clear for the prisoners. “You're free to go.” Zack offered happily, hands moving to his hips. “We got most of the enemy but there might still be some lingering around, we'll escort you out before blowing this place sky high. If you want we can take you back to a safe place or you can go your own way.” The people began muttering to themselves before an old man stood on shaky legs, he had a cane in one gnarled hand and he slowly began hobbling forward. When he reached Zack he looked up into his eyes, his face was grim as he nodded.

When the old man passed and stepped out of the door others began to follow, some paused to offer their rescuers thanks, others simply fled into the night. One woman hesitated, her arms curled protectively around a small child. She looked at Zack and noted his glowing eyes, her face twisted and tears began to track down her flushed cheeks. Concern made Zack lift a hand and open his mouth to speak but the woman stepped out of his reach, turning so that her body was between him and her child. She then spat into his face. Zack's men shifted uncomfortably as he winced, warm spittle sliding slowly down his face. “This is your fault!” The woman hissed vehemently. “SOLDIER, ShinRa...none of this would have happened if it hadn't been for you! My husband would still be alive and my daughter would never have witnessed his murder! You disgust me, _monster_.” She held her head high as she strode away, fading into shadows with the others. Zack shuddered, lifting a hand and wiping at his face, he looked down at his leather glove and swallowed a tight lump in his throat. His men lingered uncertainly until one stepped forward and pulled down his mask.

“Zack?”

Zack blinked and looked up at Kunsel's concerned face. “...I'm ok.” He said, taking a breath and forcing a smile, however, Kunsel didn't look convinced. “C'mon, let's get this mission over with.”

Some civilians were lingering by the gap in the fence when Zack dragged himself through after setting the explosives. He was faced with mixed reactions, some were happy to have been rescued, others gazed at him with suspicion and even hatred. Zack found himself averting his gaze as he took the remote detonator from Kunsel and hit the button, he adjusted his sword as the countdown began and together they strode into the woods in silence. Mutters followed him, some whispering behind their hands about dangerous monsters, some saying that they were being taken to yet another secret ShinRa science facility where they would be subjected to more torture. Zack closed his eyes, allowing his feet to lead. He had never been called names, not like this. Even in Wutai he hadn't met many civilians, the only people who came close had been some of Wutai's elite fighting force but that had been when he had been much younger and much more naive. He wasn't so innocent now and he understood why Angeal had defected, all his earlier protestations of SOLDIER not being monsters made him want to laugh bitterly. He wished he could regain some of his old innocence but that had died in Hojo's labs. He opened his eyes and looked up at the stars, wanting nothing more than to get back to Cloud.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Personally I hate this chapter, I really struggled to write it. Hopefully it's better than i think it is, if not I'm so sorry but i just don't have the energy to look at it anymore. Will also warn that my b button on my laptop has pinged off so I MIGHT have missed some B's, if so I'm sorry, I tried to make sure I got them all but it's hard when you have to press really hard on the button lol. Enjoy and I intend to do better in future chapters, I just don't like the boring interconnecting bits.

Tseng walked silently between the tall, white trees. His boots barely making a sound as he moved towards one of the larger buildings the Turks had claimed as their own. As he reached the small clearing he could hear the voices of his comrades, some brief laughter and a low curse. He walked past Cissnei and Freyra standing beside a battered looking tree that had been the unfortunate victim of Cissnei's shuriken. He nodded to the girls who returned his greeting with smiles. When he reached the building he pushed open the old door, hearing it creak loudly as he entered. Balto was in the hall, perched on a low bench as he ran a whet stone down the length of his Katana. He looked up briefly and offered a quiet greeting before returning to his task. Tseng moved on, further into the building to a room at the back that served as an office. He knocked and waited politely a moment until someone called for him to enter. Tseng pushed open the door and stepped inside.  
  
Rufus sat at a poorly made desk, little more than two rocks with a board sat on top. He poured over some paper work, muttering to himself as he ran fingers through his unkempt hair. “Sir,” Tseng offered him a small bow, eyes meeting Rude's across the room. Rude was usually pretty quiet but getting anything other than an occasional grunt out of him since Reno's death was more difficult than usual. “I received word that Zack Fair's team managed to complete their mission. The base has been destroyed.”  
  
Rufus glanced up at him, shadows haunting his eyes before he looked back down at the paper work. “Good.” He sighed, pushing the papers away from him. “It would be much easier if I could just leave-”  
  
“If the other men see you we can't know what they'll do, sir. Your safety is paramount.” Tseng reminded him stiffly.   
  
Rufus ran both hands through his hair before leaning back, he looked up at the ceiling, “Tseng?”  
  
“Sir?” Tseng moved closer.  
  
“Do you really believe in redemption?” Rufus tilted his head towards Tseng, eyeing him from beneath the fall of his hair.   
  
“It's a pleasant thought, sir.” Tseng moved to another nearby chair and pulled it closer, sitting on the opposite side of the desk. He reached inside his jacket, crossed his ankle over his knee as he produced a battered silver flask. He unscrewed the cap and set it down between them, dark eyes meeting Rufus'. “But perhaps a dream for some.”  
  
Rufus hummed thoughtfully, reaching for the flask and bringing it to his lips, “Then let's drink to a dream.” He tilted the flask and Tseng's lips curled into a smile.   
  
XXX  
  


Vincent leaned against a wall, watching Yuffie work herself into a state as she spoke to her father, phone pressed against her ear. She paced and ranted, flinging her free arm into the air as she tried to argue her points.

“Yeah but dad, these men want to murder innocent people!” She cried in exasperation, “You can't seriously be thinking of caving to their demands?! It's ShinRa all over again! You're talking about kids here! Kids and women and old people! Don't give in! We'll help-”

“Yuffie!” Godo cut across her rant with a sharp command. “I understand your concerns but they're assembling an army in preparation to invade, even now we haven't got the man-power to fight another war. If we resist our people will be wiped out, is that what you want? Part of being a ruler is knowing when to surrender and now is such a time. My daughter, I'm proud of you and everything you've done for your friends and for your country. One day you will become an excellent Empress, for now I must make the best decisions regarding our own people. In this you cannot help, you are too far away and don't have the strength to resist these people. Stay where you are, stay safe and remember that I love you and respect what you're doing.”

“But...dad...”

  
“I'm sorry, Yuffie. I cannot win this war...we're a beaten country, our pride in tatters since ShinRa invaded. Although now we are stronger than we were, we are still too weak to fend off another invasion. I must give them what they want.”

Yuffie bit down on her bottom lip, her hands curling into fists. “Isn't there anything you can do? We can't just hand over all those people to them...they'll all die.”

Godo sighed, “I'm old, Yuffie. Old and tired...I'll do everything within my limited power to help these people but I can make no promises.”  
  
“Ok...I'll talk later.”

“Good bye, I love you.”

Yuffie smiled as her father hung up, she turned to Vincent, face pale and shaky. “We need to tell Cid...Shera's in trouble.”

Vincent regarded her silently for a moment. “You know what he'll do, don't you?”

Yuffie blew out a breath, pushing her hair from her face, “Yeah. He'll go running off to go be a hero.” She closed her eyes and shook her head. “But he has to know, right?”

Vincent nodded slowly, “He would never forgive you if you never told him.”

“Right...well...let's get this over with.” She grimaced and picked up her Shuriken from the table as she strode past Vincent and out the door.

  
  


XXX

Cid took a deep drag of his cigarette, narrowing his eyes against the smoke that rose into them. He clenched his teeth around it and folded his arms over his chest. “I'm goin'.” He said roughly, looking to each of his friends as if daring them to stop him.

Vincent nodded as if he knew, Yuffie gave him a pained look and Barret shrugged. Tifa looked over to Cloud who was gazing out of the window of the building they were in. “I'll go with you.” He said finally and the weird tension in the room broke. “Barrett? Vincent?” The two men nodded when Cloud looked at them, agreeing to go with him. “Tifa, you stay here with Yuffie.”  
  
Tifa sighed but nodded reluctantly, she rubbed at her bare arms a moment, “What are we supposed to tell the others? They'll want to know what's going on.”  
  
“We'll let them know the plan but we're not going to let them order us around,” Cloud glanced around at his friends who all nodded. “Right.” He sighed, moving to the door of the small house Barret and Tifa shared. He opened the door and stepped out.   
  
They followed the winding path towards the centre of the village and soon found the small group of ex-SOLDIER's who helped run things. They gathered in a loose group by the mess hall, glowing eyes flicking from Cloud to his friends and back again.  
  
“I'm taking Vincent, Barret and Cid out to Wutai,” Cloud began, straight to the point as he shifted uncomfortably under the other men's gazes.  
  
“What? Wutai? Why?” One man frowned, folding his arms over his chest, “Who gave you the right to just do whatever the hell you want anyway?”  
  
“Yeah,” Another guy added, “Who the hell are you?”  
  
“I'm just...Cloud.” Cloud muttered, frowning, “I'm not here to argue, we're going whether you like it or not. The United Front are threatening Godo to hand over the refugees we sent there when this all started. We're going to bring them here, where they'll be safe.”  
  
“Thinking about it, I don't remember ever seein' this guys face around Shinra.” Another man said, ignoring Cloud's statement, “And I'd remember a pretty face like that.”  
  
The first man who spoke snorted, “Yeah. Who are you really? You've been walking around here like you're one of them first classes...you're good but I don't remember your face or name.”  
  
Cloud shifted, “It's...a long story.”  
  
“Look, we've got more important things to be doin' than standin' aroun' here shootin' the shit.” Barret said suddenly, voice drowning out anymore protests. “All you need to know is that this kid here? He's a good man. We'll stay outta your way, if you stay outta ours. How 'bout that?” He slapped Cloud on the shoulder, causing him to grunt and turn wide eyes on him.

  
A couple of the men grumbled but shrugged, “Fine. Whatever.” Their leader said, turning away. “Just make sure you don't fuck this up and get us all into shit, yeah?”  
  
“Trust me, I won't.” Cloud replied quietly, watching the men disperse.   
  
XXX  
  
  


Cloud peered over the edge of a low ridge, gazing down at the small encampment where Godo had housed the refugees. He frowned and ducked back down behind a nearby rock, running a hand through his hair. “It's heavily guarded by Wutai troops.” He said, frowning at his friends who were crouched around him, listening intently. “We can't get them out with Godo's permission, if the United Front find out he's willingly helped us he'll be in even more trouble.”

“So we gotta get 'em out the hard way, huh?” Barrett grunted.

Cloud nodded. “Vincent?” The man lifted his head and slowly blinked at Cloud. “Do you think you can take out the guards without any fatalities?”

Vincent cocked his head to one side. “Of course.” He rose gracefully and flung his cloak open, revealing Cerberus strapped to his thigh. “I'll use tranquillising darts where I can.”

“Thanks. When you've taken out the guards send up a signal.”

Vincent inclined his head and suddenly leapt into the air, he disappeared into the night, his crimson cloak barely visible against the dark sky. Cid, Barrett and Cloud all scrabbled to the edge of the ridge and watched. There was no sound but they could see when the bodies started to fall, first the two guards at the gates, then others. It was slow work, even Vincent couldn't be in more than one place at a time but very soon all the Wutai troops were sleeping soundly on beds of rock and grass. Vincent sent a flash of purple energy into the air, alerting the others it was their turn. Cloud turned to Barrett and Cid, “Right, let's mo-”

“Move out.” Cid overrode Cloud with a large grin.

Cloud smiled and nodded. “Let's move out then.” He whispered and rose to his feet, adjusting his sword on his back before sliding down the embankment. They ran in low crouches towards the camp, keeping an eye out for any trouble as they finally reached the entrance where Vincent was waiting for them. Cid crushed his habitual cigarette into the ground and swung his spear up over his shoulder. The three men nodded to each other before Cloud easily snapped the locks on the gates and they strode inside. At first people spotted them and started to panic until they recognised them. Very quickly word spread of their arrival and they began to gather in a large group in the centre of their camp; women, children, old people and the injured, all came out to see what was happening. Cloud stood with his friends at his back and took a deep breath, nerves chewed at his gut as he felt eyes boring into him from curious people. Suddenly there was a shout and a woman and child ran forward, Cloud's hand went for his sword in reflex before he realised it was Marlene and Shera. Marlene pelted straight for her father and threw herself at him, Barrett laughed loudly and hefted her into the air causing her to giggle. Cloud smiled at the reunion just as Shera collided with Cid, tackling him to the ground and wrapping her arms around his neck.

“Woah! What the hell woman?!” Cid yelled, hitting the ground hard while he tried to prevent Shera from hurting herself. He cursed and winced as people in the crowd laughed. “Get off'a me ya damned clingy wench!”

“Oh Cid it's been so long!” Shera cried, ignoring Cid's protestations. She knew he liked it by the way his arms belied his words and wrapped her in a firm, unrelenting hug.

“Yeah, yeah. Jus' lemme get my ass offa the damned floor.” Cid grumbled, frowning as he stood and then helped Shera to her feet. His eyes scanned her intently until he deemed her unharmed. “Where's...where is he?” He asked in a quiet voice, Shera smiled brilliantly and took his hand in hers.

“Asleep, one of the other women is watching him.”

Cid took a shuddery breath and finally hugged her tightly and obviously, Cloud was a little surprised to see such a public display of affection between them but he knew that after everything they'd been through Cid had changed. “I wanna see him.” He said. “Bu' righ' now we gotta get you lot outta here.”

Barrett set Marlene on her feet as she ran to Cloud and gave him a hug too, he patted her on the head and smiled down at her. “You should go and pack your stuff, tell everyone we're getting them out.”

“Why?” Marlene's face crumpled in confusion, she glanced back at her dad who shook his head. “All right, but you're telling me when we come back.” She warned, her demeanour so reminiscent of Aerith Cloud felt his heart ache physically.

“O'course, sunshine. Now, go get your stuff so we can get outta this dump.” Barrett replied.

Marlene ran off again as Cid ushered Shera to follow. “ Same goes for all of ya, get your stuff and get gone! This place ain't safe no more!” Cid called, the rest of the refugees watched warily before slowly drifting away to get their own things together.

Finally the crowd gathered once again, awaiting further instruction with their few belongings at their feet. They exchanged worried glances and there was a low hum of soft mutters that permeated the air as the tension started to rise. Mothers clutched their children close, old men held their wives' hands and a few injured men stood together in small groups. Cloud eyed them all, uncertain just how many people had fled to Wutai when the war on SOLDIER had begun. He chewed his lip, feeling more and more nervous as time dragged, he didn't know how long the tranquillisers would last on the guards and didn't want to be noticed until they were long gone.

“Right, is that everyone?!” Cid called and got a few hesitant nods in agreement. “Alrighty then folks, we're gonna be makin' our way back to my ship, she's got plenty of room fer you bu' try not to end up fightin'. It's a long trip back to the Forgotten City an' I ain't gonna take any shit. Now, move out!” He grinned as he said that, glancing at Cloud.

Cloud snorted softly, a smile tugging at his lips as he watched the refugees leave. He and his friends followed, Cloud glancing back over his shoulder occasionally as the hairs on the back of his neck prickled. He had the uneasy feeling that they were being watched.

They moved at a slow crawl, Cid leading the way with Shera and their new baby. Vincent, Barrett and Cloud trailed behind the short snake-like line of people with Barrett holding tight to Marlene's hand. Cloud continuously glanced behind but never saw anything except dark grasslands and rocky outcroppings and, in the distance, the glittering lights of Wutai's capital city. He adjusted his sword in its harness and trudged on, eyes moving around trying to see beyond the darkness.

When the Shera was in sight people began to obviously relax, the soft rumble of chatter rose steadily and the few odd bursts of laughter broke the early morning air. Cloud flinched when someone shouted something to another person, another tripped and giggled.   
  
Just as the first few people reached the airship Cloud heard a low, threatening growl from his left. He turned just in time to see a guard hound leap off a rocky outcropping, it's jaws wide as it landed directly on top of him. Cloud grunted, arms rising as the beast latched onto his arms. It took a few moments before people began to notice, first one and then another until panic spread down the line. People began to scream, making a desperate dash for the airship. Cloud struggled with the beast, sword trapped beneath him. Sudden gun fire tore through the air, the beast on top of him screamed and jerked back. Cloud gasped in a breath, rolling away from it and yanking his sword from it's sheath. He scrambled quickly to his feet again, panting just as the hound made to jump at him again. He blocked it with his sword, pushing it back and swinging the weapon around. The blade sliced easily through the creatures throat. It fell, gurgling and twitching. Cloud turned to see more hounds chasing after the refugees. He could hear screaming, Barret's voice rising above the panic as he directed everyone towards the Shera. Cloud heard another chilling snarl and turned to face two more hounds. He curled his hands around the hilt of his sword and ran towards them.  
  
XXX  
  
When Zack returned from his mission Tifa met him, explaining that Cloud had gone to Wutai. He sighed in disappointment and trudged back to his and Cloud's make-shift house. He stood at the edge of the lake, arms folded. There were more offerings now, flowers and small trinkets people had brought to the edge of the lake. Zack removed the Buster sword from his back, bringing the flat of the blade to his forehead. He closed his eyes briefly before drawing it away again.   
  
The sound of boots crunching against stone made him turn to peer through the shadowy trees. He watched a familiar dark-suited figure appear, long hair catching in the moonlight. Zack returned his gaze to the lake and waited.  
  
“You're back.” Tseng said quietly, standing a few feet away beside a tree. “How did it go?”  
  
Zack shrugged, “Ok. We did what we went to do.” He sighed and stabbed the tip of the buster sword into the ground, leaning against it. “But you already knew that, right?” He looked back over his shoulder to Tseng who smiled mysteriously. “You came here for another reason.”  
  
“I did.” Tseng approached, standing at Zack's side. He looked out across the water, watching a soft breeze send ripples rolling to the shore. “I have something that belongs to you.” He said and Zack finally noticed he held something in his hands. Tseng looked down at the box, running gloved fingers over it's lid. It was battered, a little cracked in one corner. “I managed to retrieve this before the Shinra building collapsed...I'm...not entirely sure why I held onto it for so long.” He held the box out, eyes meeting Zack's. “I'm glad to finally get the chance to deliver them to you.”  
  
Slowly Zack reached out and took the box, frowning at it. He opened the lid and peered inside. “Oh.” He breathed, looking back up.

“ _Are you doing well? Where are you? It’s been four years. This will be the 89th letter I’ve written, but I will not send out anymore. I hope that you will receive this last letter. Zack, the flowers are selling very well. It makes everyone smile. It’s all thanks to you.”  
  
_ He swallowed as he reached inside and withdrew the top most letter. It was faded but in decent condition, he turned it in his hand absorbing the familiar handwriting. “88 letters, all addressed to you.” Tseng said, “She asked me to make sure you received them and I tried but...by the time my men got to you...” He trailed off, shaking his head, “We were too late.”  
  
Zack slowly replaced the letter and closed the lid, “Thanks.” He said, looking at Tseng who stared into the crystal clear water.  
  
“I was supposed to protect her.” Tseng whispered under his breath.  
  
Zack smiled, “She doesn't blame anyone, you know that right?”  
  
Tseng bowed his head, hair falling to hide some of his face, “She wouldn't.” He said and finally straightened. He turned back to the trees, nodding to Zack before leaving him alone again.

Zack gripped the box tightly, watching the ripples on the lake.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud swore softly and shoved one of the beasts off of him, it backed away and crouched, ready for another lunge when a bullet flew from nowhere and hit it in the head. It collapsed in a pool of its own blood and brain matter. Cloud offered Vincent a silent thanks which the other man accepted with a tilt of his head before he turned and started firing at another creature. More gunfire split the morning in two, this one far louder and more rapid than Vincent's steady, eerily accurate shots. Cid's battle cry rose above the terrified screams of civilians as more and more beasts burst from the undergrowth and dived into the confused mass of human beings. The sound of rending flesh and agonised screams soon overpowered even the sounds of gun fire. Cloud, breathing heavily, swept his sword in a deadly arch, bringing the blade across the the throat of another beast who was trying to take a chunk out of his leg. He spun around, separating his swords in one fluid movement to stop two others from attacking his flank.

“Cid! Get them out!” He cried, being forced to roll aside as a creature leapt at him. He rolled back to his feet and put his swords together again, bright blue energy encased him as he took on a familiar dance. The monster's corpses soon began to pile up but it seemed as if there was no end. Vincent re-holstered his gun and stood stock still as five of them raced to meet him, with a roar light encased him and he transformed into Galian Beast. Cloud had no more time to watch as he kept another pair at bay with a shock-wave of energy. Galian Beast tore through the mass of monsters like they were made of water, his claws doing far more damage than even Cloud's Tsurugi.

Dawn crested the horizon, staining the world in golds and pinks and revealing the blood and gore spattering the rocks. Cloud stood in the centre of a semi-circle of enemies, his back against a bare cliff face. He was breathing hard, even for his enhanced strength the sheer number of enemies was overwhelming. Vincent was locked in a struggle with two other beasts, his claws ripping and tearing at their sides as he wrestled with them before tearing out the throat of one and disembowelling another. Cloud had to look away, it was even too horrible for him and he was too used to seeing gore on a battle field. The monsters inched forward, having learned early on to be wary of Cloud's sword as he swept it before him to keep them back. He had no idea what had happened to the others, he only hoped that they had been able to escape without too many losses. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the odd corpse lying on the bloodied ground but he didn't have time to think about it at the moment. Vincent, having finished off the last of his monsters turned and went for the ones cornering Cloud. He ripped into them, causing them to scream in eerily humanoid voices. Cloud almost flinched but one of them decided to attack so he was forced to defend himself. He kicked the beast in the throat, it yelped and backed off, shaking its head before coming in for another attack.  
  
Cloud stumbled as he went for another strike. He struggled to regain his balance as his limbs ached and throbbed. His head swam and he grabbed a nearby rock for balance, the beast lunged. It's jaws clamping down on his ankle. Cloud grunted, kicking out but the beast yanked his foot from under him. He fell and lost his grip on his sword, trying to break the animals grip on his leg. Agony tore through him as the creature shook it's massive head, there was a crack that Cloud felt with his entire body. His hands dug into the earth, gouging at it as he tried to grab for his sword. His exhausted limbs screaming in protest. The beast had him pinned down, hot breath brushing the back of Cloud's neck. Just as Cloud felt the scrape of teeth something bigger crashed into the hound and sent it careening off the cliff entirely. It yelped and squealed while it fell, crashing into the rocks below. Cloud lay still, panting and gasping as he tried to regain his breath. Somewhere close by he heard Vincent return to his human form, a soft pained grunt escaping him before he shook it off and crouched by Cloud's side. “Cloud?” Vincent grabbed his arm and rolled him over, peering down into his face. “Are you ok?”  
  
Cloud groaned, rubbing at his filthy face, “Yeah. Just...tired.”   
  
Vicent nodded but didn't look convinced. With his help Cloud was able to scramble back to his feet, wobbling a little and clutching onto Vincent for support. He tried to put weight on his ankle but agony tore up his leg and he nearly collapsed again. Vincent tightened his grip on him and helped him retrieve his sword. “We must return to the others.”  
  
Cloud grit his teeth, nodding. Together they began to hobble their way towards the Shera, her bright lights illuminating the blood soaked ground.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short chapter this time, however, you may or may not have noticed that I have made it a 'series' as I did an extra fic tied to this chapter. The extra contains many, many warnings so I did it seperately so people have the choice whether to read it or not. If you don't read it it won't really affect your over all understanding of the main fic so don't worry.

  
After walking a little closer to the Shera Vincent felt Cloud stumble at his side, he tightened his grip around his waist and turned his head. Cloud's face was pale, his head dropped forward. Blood stained hair covered his eyes but his lips were pulled into a tight line. As the sun rose further, turning Cloud's hair to gold Vincent noticed the silver within it. He paused, helping Cloud to the ground for a rest, he crouched, reaching out to touch some of the white in his hair. Cloud looked up at him, panting, eyes glowing eerily. “Cellular degradation.” Vincent said, tilting his head a little.  
  
Cloud managed a small, humourless smile, “Don't tell the others.”  
  
“They'll need to know, Cloud. You can't hide this forever.” Vincent released his hair and then bent to inspect his ruined ankle, “Is that how this happened?”  
  
Cloud winced and grunted, “Guess my reflexes aren't what they used to be.” He muttered, leaning back against the rocks he was resting against.   
  
“I don't have any potions on me.” Vincent blinked down at Cloud's torn trouser leg, “We'll have to get some when we return.”  
  
Cloud sighed, eyes closing momentarily before he nodded, “Help me up.” He lifted his hand and Vincent rose, clasping his wrist and dragging him back to his good leg. Cloud slid an arm around Vincent's waist and Vincent held him upright as they limped on.  
  
“Those hounds...” Vincent began thoughtfully, frowning ahead at the path of devastation the battle had left behind, “They were Shinra bred.”  
  
“Guess so. Wouldn't...be hard for the United Front to get their hands on one and breed from it.” Cloud's breath hitched on a wince of pain, grip tightening on Vincent's cloak.   
  
“They knew we would come.”  
  
“Well it was pretty obvious,” Cloud glanced at Vincent through his bloody hair.  
  
Vincent grunted and nodded as they finally reached the airship. It's ladder was down but Cloud eyed it warily, “You're not going to be able to climb up with your ankle.” Vincent pointed out, he tightened his grip on Cloud's waist. Cloud didn't have time to respond before Vincent's legs tensed at his side, his eyes widened as his cloak fluttered and Vincent launched them both into the air. Cloud's grip tightened on Vincent as they leapt over the railing and landed with a thud. The jolt of the landing caused agony to once again tear up Cloud's leg, he muffled a cry behind his teeth and collapsed. Vincent eased his fall and helped him lean back against the railing.  
  
“Hey, Spikey!” Barret called, stomping over to them and inspecting the mess of Cloud's leg, “Did you see any other survivors?” He asked, crouching down.  
  
Cloud shook his head, face too pale as he leaned his head back against metal, leg extended and his hands gripping his knee.   
  
Barret eyed Cloud's injury a moment before sighing, “We lost a few of 'em. Marlene's safe though,”   
  
“Good.” Cloud breathed through the pain, cracking open an eye, “Who did we lose?”  
  
“Some of the injured went down, couldn't move 'em fast enough.” Barret admitted, shaking his head, “And...” He glanced over his shoulder towards the entrance to below decks. “Shera.”   
  
Cloud closed his eyes, “Cid?”  
  
Barret sighed heavily, “Not doin' so good. His crew are takin' over, we're gonna be taking off soon.”  
  
“His son?” Vincent asked.  
  
“The baby's fine. Shera...protected him.”  
  
They were silent for a while until they felt the Shera's massive engines rumble beneath them and they rose into the sky.

XXX  
  
Rude sat in one of the many uncomfortable chairs inside the small building the Turks had taken for their own. A mug of rapidly cooling coffee sat on a nearby table, beside heavy electronic equipment. Emma was dismantling a console, tiny screwdriver in her hand and a frown on her face. Neither of them spoke. Abruptly Rude felt his phone buzz, he frowned, extracting it from his pocket. He didn't recognise the number on the screen, he glanced over to Emma who was watching him before finally answering the call, “Who is this?” He demanded, frowning. There was some odd noise on the other end and Rude rose, staring out the window. “Where did you get this number? _Answer me._ ”

He heard ragged breathing on the other end and then; “Hey, partner,” Rude's heart leapt into his throat, he felt his knees wobble, trying to throw him to the floor as shock rendered him mute. “That any way to talk to me?”  
  
Rude took a few seconds to find his voice again, his eyes met Emma's concerned gaze, “R-Reno? Is it..?”  
  
“It's me...it's good to hear your voice, yo.”  
  
Reno's voice sounded odd, weak and rough like he had a sore throat, Emma's eyes widened as she listened to Rude's half of the conversation. Rude ran a hand over his bald head, his throat almost closing over in a mixture of fear and relief. “I...I thought...you were dead. You're supposed to be _dead_.” Rude knocked into something, causing it to fall to the floor. He felt numb, fingers tingling weirdly. He didn't know what to ask first, “Where are you? What _happened_?”  
  
“I don't know where I am. I'll explain what happened some other time...I just...I wanna come home, Rude.” Reno's voice was thick and trembling over the speakers, Rude felt something twist in his gut. How could he get Reno back only to have him taken from him again? “I'm cold. And I got out but...they're hunting me. I dunno how much longer I got. Tell Tseng I got intel for him. I dunno...track this phone.” Rude turned to Emma and waved his hand frantically at the nearby computer, she scrambled to get the tracing equipment set up. “I'm...gonna leave you somethin'. I...” Rude watched Emma set everything up then give him a nod, he realised his hands were trembling. Reno didn't sound good. “I gotta go. They're coming.” Rude heard Reno shifting around, something scraping the ground and then, “Ok...ok so I got some intel. I downloaded it from their computers. There's an old Shinra facility nearby, they took it over, yo. I'm in a small dell, you'll find it. The intel's under a weird shaped rock.”  
  
“Y-Yeah. Yeah we will. Just...hold on a sec. Don't hang up.” Rude tried to keep his voice steady as he watched the screen with Emma. “Calls being tracked. Can you see anything out there? Some kinda land mark?”  
  
“I...dunno. A lotta grass and...a tree, yo.” Reno's voice started to slur, a shiver ran down Rude's spine. “'M so tired. Say somethin'. Jus'...talk to me. I wanna hear your voice,”  
  
“We're coming for you, Reno. Hold on for me, ok? We'll find you. I promise. Emma'll get your location, we'll bring you home. I'm waiting so don't you dare give up.”  
  
“Rude...just...promise me...”   
  
“Anything, partner.” Rude whispered.  
  
Reno sighed, “Promise you won't...beat yourself up about this, yo. It's not your fault.”  
  
“Reno...”  
  
“'m ok. I just gotta...rest my eyes a second...”  
  
“Reno! Stay on the line for me!” Rude knew they were close. So close to finding him. He closed his eyes tightly, fingers gripping his phone.  
  
“It's a fucking game, yo. He...let's me escape sometimes...just so he can hunt me. This time though...this time I stole a phone. He'll find me. He always does. Just...just make sure you find this place.” There was a pause, Reno breathing heavily, “Ya'know...Aerith used to say that...the sky scared her. It did me too.” He laughed to himself, “But it's beautiful, man.”  
  
“Yeah. It is.” Rude's breathing was unsteady, Emma turned to him to tell him they had the location. Rude nodded to her, rising and moving to the door. They had some transports from the WRO, rarely used but this was an emergency and he doubted anyone would begrudge him borrowing one.  
  
“Tell...tell the others not to worry, yo. 'm already dead. And...and tell them...they found him. They found...Weiss. I tried to take him out but...not sure it worked.”  
  
“What?” Rude almost halted, he glanced back to Emma and mouthed the news to her, “Say that again, Reno?”  
  
“Weiss. He's...alive. They found him. They were...gonna use him to wipe out the last of the SOLDIER's. Warn them in case it didn't work. They...need to know...”  
  
“Ok. I'll let them know. We got your location, we're coming Reno.”  
  
“Rude?”  
  
“I'm here.” Rude panted as he ran through the trees, Emma hot on his heels.  
  
“I'm sorry.”   
  
Rude heard a thud from the other line, some rustling and then someone shouting. He sped up, unable to end the call even as he heard a thud and a loud, pained grunt. _“You almost had us, pretty boy, I'll admit. But you can't get away from me.”  
  
_ Rude glanced to Emma, eyes wide behind his glasses, “Hurry.” She nodded and they dodged through the trees until they found the clearing where the few airships they'd managed to find were parked. On the horizon they could see the familiar shape of the Shera coming in to land but Rude focussed on a smaller, easier to handle ship. He and Emma ran to it and scrambled on board. Rude went straight to the cock-pit while Emma contacted Tseng to explain what was happening. He managed to stop his hands from shaking just long enough to get them in the air.  
  
XXX  
  
When the Shera landed Zack was waiting. He shifted from one foot to the other as he stood with Cloud's friends. He had an uneasy feeling in his gut as the ship touched down and the ladder unravelled. He watched as Barret climbed down, carrying his daughter. He was followed by others. Zack searched but saw no sign of blond hair. He moved forward as Barret approached, allowing Marlene to run ahead and leap into Tifa's arms. “Where's Cloud?” Zack asked.  
  
“He's comin'.” Barret assured him, patting him on the shoulder as he went to Tifa to give her an update on what happened. Zack saw a flash of crimson and Vincent landed on the ground, half carrying Cloud who stumbled when he was put back on his feet. Zack ran forward, catching Cloud just in time before he hit the floor.   
  
“Cloud!” Zack pushed him back, inspecting his face. He was pale, shaken and bloody. “You ok?”  
  
“Fine. Just...my ankle.” He gripped onto Zack, looking down and Zack followed his gaze. “We were attacked. The UF sent in some guard hounds.” Cloud sighed, leaning most of his weight on Zack. His ankle was a mess, trouser cuff torn. “I think it's broken.”  
  
“Yeah.” Zack sighed, “Let's get you back so we can bandage you up.”  
  
“Thanks.”


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hullo friends, bit of a short update but it's been so long. I hope it suffices. I'm getting back into this fic so it's taking a while to warm up, get back into the characters heads etc so it may not be up to scratch but please bare with me. Enjoy and I hope I can keep updating when I have the time.

“Cloud?” Zack helped ease Cloud down onto the bed in the house they all used as a medical ward. A few medics hung around, watching. Cloud hung his head, one hand gripping Zack's shirt as he breathed. His injured leg stretched out before him and he stared at it for a moment, “Buddy?” Zack crouched, tilting his head as he peered up into Cloud's face.

“I'm fine.” Cloud said finally, lips oddly numb.

“Uh-huh.” Zack frowned a little but let the lie slide. He sighed and focussed his attention on Cloud's leg, he yanked the cloth out the way and hissed air through his teeth when he saw the mess of deep gouges. “Man, looks like they used you like a chew toy.”

Cloud nodded, looking up as one of the medics approached with bandages and potions. Zack thanked the woman and poured the bottle of potion over Cloud's leg, he watched as the wounds remained. Zack's thumb ran slowly up and down Cloud's ankle and he looked up to meet his eyes, “It's not healing.” He said under his breath, searching Cloud's face.

“Yeah. I don't think it will.” Cloud replied slowly, averting his gaze.

“I've seen this before, I-” 

“We all knew it was gonna happen sooner or later, Zack.” Cloud sighed, shaking his head. His fingers dug into the mattress beneath him. 

Zack shook his head, frowning, “There's a way to stop it.” He said, grip tightening on Cloud's ankle as he lifted himself onto his knees to bring their faces level. His eyes were intense as he stared into Cloud's, “You just need-”

“Zack-”

“Just listen to me Cloud.” Zack held up his hand, halting any more protests. “I've seen it before and they got better.”

“It's a death sentence, everyone knows that.” Cloud frowned.

Zack shook his head, “Not for everyone.”

“Fine. Then how do we stop it?” Cloud eyed him doubtfully but Zack bulldozed on.

“You need a blood transfusion.”

“That it?” Cloud frowned doubtfully, “If it was that easy then this would never've been a problem in the first place.”

Zack shook his head, black hair swaying, “No. It can't be just anyone's blood, it'd have to be someone...someone like us.” Cloud frowned but remained quiet, waiting. The few medics had left them alone in the room, each going to help others who were injured in the battle in Wutai. Zack sighed and closed his eyes, “The only person who can save you is-”

“Me.”

A chill went down Cloud's spine, he didn't need to turn his head to see who had entered the room. A single feather drifted down and landed in his lap. Cloud's hands tightened on the bed. “No.” He said, attempting to rise to his feet but stumbling, Zack caught him beneath the arms. “Zack...let me go.” Cloud growled, glaring at his friend who sighed and helped him sit back down again. 

Zack rubbed at the back of his head, glancing briefly over his shoulder at Sephiroth. “Cloud, I don't like this anymore than you do but...” He shrugged one shoulder helplessly, “I also don't wanna see you kick the bucket.”

“You think I want to die?” Cloud looked up at him through his fringe, he shook his head, “I never wanted to die, Zack.”

“Then let us help you.” Zack insisted, “We know how to help, we've got a cure right here.”

“I don't wanna die but...” Cloud sighed, shoulders slumping, “I'd rather die than be used like this. Not again.”

Sephiroth, standing by the door of the medical room unfolded his arms from his chest, “Enough of this. Zack, you know what must be done. Bring me the equipment.” He unbuckled his coat and slid it down his arms, revealing his chest covered in little more than the leather straps of his belt. He dropped it over the back of a nearby chair. Zack hesitated but Sephiroth sent him a sharp look, causing him to jump to his feet.

“Zack!” Cloud lurched forward but Sephiroth caught him around the middle, holding him still with one arm. “Let go of me, asshole!” Cloud struggled against Sephiroth but he was strong. “I said-”

“Sleep.” Sephiroth muttered, feeling Cloud's struggles lessen until he was dead weight. He adjusted his grip and lowered him back onto the bed. Cloud lay still, head tilted to one side, bloody, golden hair clinging to his cheek. Sephiroth brushed it aside with one finger before taking the nearby chair and drawing it closer. Zack returned with his hands full of equipment.

“Doctor said I'd need this-” He hesitated in the door way, glancing at Cloud, “Is he-?”

“He's fine. I put him to sleep.” Sephiroth answered, lifting his right arm, he met Zack's eyes. “I've done this enough times to know what to do, just do everything I tell you to.”

Zack took a breath, uncertain but he started to set up the equipment to Sephiroth's instructions.

When he was done he stepped back, he folded his arms tightly across his chest and frowned down at Cloud. “You better be right about this, man.” He muttered, shaking his head.

“You know what happened to Genesis. The same thing can be done here.” Sephiroth kept very still, eyes fixed on Cloud's unconscious form. 

“Cellular degradation was supposed to be something that happened to Genesis and his clones, not...not us.”

“Hojo was never able to complete his experiments on you or any other clone made from my blood.” Sephiroth replied, lifting his piercing eyes to Zack, “You escaped long before he could. However, one can presume that the principle is the same.”

Zack nibbled at the side of his thumb, frowning. “So you're guessing?”

“A guess based on Hojo's very own research. He was a terrible scientist but understood mother and myself better than most.”

“You know she wasn't your mother, right?” Zack eyed Sephiroth, hip cocked.

“Hm. The closest thing I ever had to one, perhaps.” He replied smoothly, closing the fingers of his right arm slowly as he watched the blood run down the tube tying him to Cloud. 

XXX

As soon as Rude touched down he was up, out of his seat and rushing to the door of their craft. Emma followed him out, boots thudding on grass. He looked around, his throat tight. Ahead of them was a tree with a hollow beneath it, Rude broke into a run, ignoring Emma's voice telling him to wait. He drew close enough to see a figure lying on the grass at the base of the crooked tree, in the distance several dark-clad figures ran away. Rude ignored them, intent on reaching the figure on the ground. He came to a halt, dropping to his knees. Reno lay in a heap, clothes torn, blood spattered and seeming unconscious. Rude swallowed back the lump in his throat and reached out, one hand sliding beneath Reno's head. His hair was shorter, skin much paler than usual and he was bruised and too thin. Rude drew him into his arms, rising. Reno was lighter than he remembered, too light but he was breathing and Rude drew comfort from that. He looked up as Emma returned to his side, she shook her head. “They got away.” She muttered bitterly, wiping her face on her sleeve. She looked at Rude's carefully handled bundle, her eyes widening. “He's really alive?”

“Seems so.” Rude said, “Let's get him home.”

Emma nodded, stowing her gun away as she followed Rude back to their ship.

XXX

Zack sat beside the lake, one knee drawn up, his arm resting across it. He tilted his head back, closing his eyes as a soft breeze stirred his hair. Nearby the Buster Sword stood, impaled in the ground. The water rippled, and the sound of wings made Zack open his eyes. 

“Your friends awake.” Angeal said from behind him as Zack rose to his feet. “Is everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Zack hesitated, rubbing the back of his head before sighing, “No.” His lips twisted a little, “I don't think he's gonna wanna see me.”

Angeal folded his arms over his chest, “Is this because of what you made him do?”

“Kinda...I mean, what other choice did we have?” Zack glances over to his mentor, guilt weighing down his shoulders. 

“Hm. Well, I'd be pretty pissed too but...if he's really your friend, he'll forgive you.”

Zack turned back to the lake, rubbing absently at his upper arm, “I hope you're right Angeal.”

“When am I not?” Angeal smirked.

“Man, he is gonna kick my ass.” Zack groaned, grabbing his sword and resting it on his shoulder.

XXX

Tifa sat beside Cloud's bedside while Marlene played doctor across the room, she watched Cloud sleep. He looked somehow younger, all his cares washed away as he dreamed. She reached out, hesitantly and brushed strands of gold hair from his forehead. His ankle had been bandaged neatly and the doctors all said he would recover soon enough. She sighed, shaking her head and glanced back to Marlene who was pressing a stethoscope to her own chest, listening to her heartbeat. Tifa smiled and when she turned back to Cloud his eyes were open, he was watching her in silence. “You're awake!” She said, her smile widening.

“Cloud!” Marlene leapt to her feet and ran to him, Tifa grabbed her just before she tried to climb onto the bed with him. 

Cloud pushed himself upright, wincing. His hand went to his head and he shook it, blinking rapidly. “What-” He began before looking down at his ankle. “They fixed it?”

“Seems so.” Tifa said, “Although they didn't use any sedative, they think you must've been really tired.”

“Are you ok now, Cloud? Daddy said you were hurt by the monsters.” Marlene peered at his leg, “I was helping Tifa to look after you.” She said proudly.

“Thanks. Guess I really needed to rest, huh?” Cloud smiled, reaching out to ruffle her hair. She giggled and pushed his hand away. “Anything happen while I was out?”

Tifa shook her head, “No. Everything's been quiet.”

“Good.” Cloud slid his legs off the bed, preparing to rise when a doctor entered.

“Ah, good you're awake.” The doctor said, “If I could just take a look-”

“No.” Cloud rose to his feet, shoving the doctor away before he could draw closer, “I'm fine. Thanks.” He took a few steps before his head exploded in agony. With a sharp cry he dropped to his knees, clutching at his skull. 

“Cloud!” Tifa grabbed Marlene by the arm to prevent her from getting too close, drawing her into the corner of the room as the doctor and a nurse drew closer. Cloud trembled, sweat breaking out across his forehead as his vision swam. He saw a pair of boots before him, standing just behind the doctors. As he lifted his eyes he could see Sephiroth standing there, he smiled, putting a finger to his lips before flickering and fading away. Cloud swallowed back bile as it rose to his throat, another voice joined the clamour of Tifa, Marlene and the medics. 

“Cloud?! Buddy...hey, you ok?”

Cloud saw a gloved hand shoved into his field of vision, he reached for it automatically. Zack gripped his wrist and hauled him back to his feet. “I'm...ok.” Cloud muttered, feeling light headed and shaky. Zack's arm curled around his waist, holding him up. 

“What happened? Is it your ankle?”

“It's fine...I just...” He shook his head a little, regretting it when the entire world spun dangerously. “Urk.” He pressed the back of his hand to his mouth as his stomach churned. “Need some air.” He gasped, clutching Zack's shoulder tightly.

“Yeah....sure. C'mon, buddy.” Zack nodded to the medics who looked confused. Slowly he helped Cloud out of the room and outside. They moved to sit on a pile of fallen rocks, Cloud groaning as he leaned over and clutched his stomach. Zack pressed a hand to Cloud's clammy forehead, “You're burning up.” He muttered, frowning.

“What happened? I just broke my ankle.” Cloud lifted his eyes to Zack's, watching him glance away. He frowned. “Zack?”

“You're...degrading.” Zack began slowly, “The only cure was to give you some of Sephiroth's blood.”

Cloud swallowed, averting his eyes, “Why?”

“Because I can't lose you.” Zack said after a moment, fingers tightening on Cloud's hand. “I've just come back and...I guess after everything I never thought I'd get another chance like this. Cloud I-”

Cloud closed his eyes, leaning back against the rocks. “It's ok.” He said finally, “I understand.”

“You do?” Zack's eyes widened.

Cloud shrugged, “I guess we'll have to wait and see if it worked.”

Zack smiled, “Yeah.” He squeezed Cloud's hand gently.

After a moment of silence they heard people call and shout. Cloud lifted his head and looked around, frowning a little. “What's going on?” They watched as a group of suit-clad people walked through the trees, chattering excitedly. As they drew closer they saw Rude in amongst them, carrying someone. 

“Looks like they found Reno.” Zack said in surprise, “Thought he was dead.”

“I think it'd take more than that to kill Reno.” Cloud muttered, following the group with his eyes as they ducked inside the medics hut.

XXX

Vincent stood at a terminal, watching points of light blink in and out. Each light represented enemy bases. He felt the air behind him stir but didn't turn around. “I wondered when you'd come.” He said instead, sparing his visitor a glance over his shoulder.

“We've been too busy lately to play catch up.” Veld replied.

Vincent lowered his head, a small smile curling the corner of his mouth. 

“Have to admit, you're a hard man to find.”

“Can't say I was that interested in being found, Veld.”

“You haven't changed.” Veld shook his head with a small laugh, “As cold as ever.”

“Perhaps.” Vincent finally tore his gaze away from the screen and turned to face his old partner. 

Veld lifted his hands, revealing a bottle with a torn label and two glasses, “Do you still drink scotch?”

Vincent considered him a moment before nodding his head, “There's a quiet spot close by.”

“Lead the way.” Veld gestured to the door. They walked out of the village and through the delicate looking trees until they reached a small pool of water. Vincent sat, perched on a stone while Veld took a seat at his side. Veld opened the bottle and poured out two glasses, he handed one to Vincent who took it with a nod. Together they stared across the clearing, watching fireflies dance across the pool. 

“So, you going to tell me what happened?” Veld asked after a while, eyeing Vincent. “Your file was closed, not even I could get into it. They erased you like you'd never even existed.”

Vincent sat very still, then he took a breath, “You know they sent me to protect Hojo and Lucretia Crescent.”

“I remember.”

“I made a mistake.” Vincent told Veld his story between sips, eyes staring into the distance. Veld listened, topping their glasses up when they got to shallow. Finally Vincent finished, “And...that's it. I was made a monster, put to sleep for years in the basement of Shinra Mansion until Cloud and his friends woke me.”

“Quite the tale.” Veld sighed, turning his glass slowly in his hand, “And...I'm sorry.”

Vincent finally looked at him, “I never held any grudges.”

“I should have searched. You were my friend and I...I just let myself believe their lies.” Veld shook his head, “I knew what they were. All of them, Hojo, the president...I knew and I did nothing.” He laughed bitterly, “I guess that came to bite me in the ass. I nearly lost my daughter, I nearly lost everything. If it wasn't for Tseng and the others I wouldn't be here now.”

“Tseng...he was my enemy once. You trained him well, he's clever.”

“More than that. He's one of the best.” Veld lifted his glass so that moonlight shone through the liquid, he smiled, “Because of him my daughter's due to get married in the spring. If I live long enough, maybe I'll have grandchildren. Imagine that, Vince? Me, a grandfather.”


	14. Chapter 14

Tseng sighed as he stood at the entry way into Reno's sick room. He could see Reno, half-out of bed and looking ready to fight the medics off one-handed. “Reno.” He said sharply, finally stepping into the room. All eyes snapped to him like magnets. As he stepped forward, the medics backed away quickly, averting their eyes. All eyes, except Reno's. Reno kept his eyes on the wall, his battered face scrunched up like a petulant child. “When I received word you'd regained consciousness I didn't realise they meant you'd been miraculously healed.”  
  
“Sir he's not-”  
  
Tseng lifted a hand, halting the medic mid-sentence. He didn't look at him. “ _Are_ you healed, Reno?”  
  
Reno's nose scrunched further, a look of disgust crossing his face, “I can work, yo.” He said, avoiding Tseng's gaze.  
  
Tseng appraised him. He was covered in bandages, stitches and bruising. The potions could only do so much and he would be on pain meds for a while. Tseng reached out, grabbing Reno's wrist and twisting, sharply. Reno cried out.  
  
“Ah shit! Yo, what the-”  
  
“You're not ready to go back to work.” Tseng released him. “I'm ordering you to stay here until you're deemed ready to leave by a medical professional, do you understand?”  
  
Reno stared at him through his hair, his eyes flashing dangerously. They held each others gazes for a while before finally Reno looked away. “Fine.” He grumbled, hanging his head. “Have it your way.”  
  
Tseng nodded, “Good. Rufus is expecting you to be in full health, you're useless to us otherwise.”  
  
Reno winced, “Yeah, yeah. Just hope you save some of the ass kicking for me, yo.” He straightened his shoulders, tilting his head, “I want my share.”  
  
Tseng's lips twitched upward in a nasty little smirk, “I believe you'd have to go through Rude. He has his own vendetta to settle, as do I.”  
  
“No.” Reno shook his head, “Maddox is _mine_. No negotiation, yo. I want him.”  
  
Tseng nodded, “When we find him, I'll hold him just for you.” He agreed smoothly, “But only if you do as you're told.”  
  
Reno grimaced and finally sighed, “I said I would, didn't I?” He pulled his legs back up onto the bed and pulled the covers back over himself. “Happy boss?”  
  
“As a clam.” Tseng replied dryly. “Rude wanted to see you but he seems somewhat reluctant.”  
  
Reno rubbed at his head, averting his gaze again. “Yeah?”   
  
“Why won't you let him in? Of all people I would have assumed-”  
  
“You assumed wrong, yo.” Reno rolled over on his side, facing away from Tseng. Effectively ending the conversation.  
  
Tseng withheld a sigh and shook his head, “Rest, Reno. I'll update you as soon as I can.” He said and turned, leaving Reno alone with the silent medics.

Rude was waiting for him outside the hut. He matched his pace to Tseng's as they walked through the maze of little houses and people. Tseng felt Rude's questions press against his skin and sighed, “He's not ready to see you yet.” He said finally, coming to a halt outside Rufus' accommodation.  
  
Rude's brows drew down into a frown, his fingers curled into fists and relaxed again several times before he finally shook his head, “Fine.” He said. “How's he doing?”  
  
“He's already got the energy to fight off several medics, he's going to be fine, Rude.” Tseng assured him, turning to watch several SOLDIERS jog past, laughing amongst themselves.   
  
“Boss...” Tseng looked back to Rude as he stared after the SOLDIERS. He waited patiently. “What they did to him...” Rude trailed off, shoulders rising a little helplessly, “Can anyone recover from that?”  
  
Tseng looked down at his hands as he adjusted his gloves to fit better over his fingers. They were worn down, fitting almost as well as his own skin. “Eventually.” He said, finally meeting Rude's eyes, “Reno's strong.”  
  
“I know.” Rude said with certainty. “Stronger than I'll ever be.”  
  
“We all have demons we have to carry. One more won't change things.” Tseng said before leaving Rude where he was and ducking into the house.  
  
XXX  
  
Cloud sat huddled up on the roof of one of the few empty houses on the edge of the ancient city. He dangled one leg over the edge and looked out into the dark forest. He sensed more than heard someone below. He cocked his head and looked down, seeing Zack emerge from the gloom. “Cloud?” Cloud shifted, clinking roof tiles and Zack looked up. “There you are.” Zack's eyes slid to the wall before he took a short running jump and grabbed the edge of the roof with his fingers. With a grunt he heaved himself up and onto the roof beside Cloud. “Everyone's looking for you.”  
  
Cloud shrugged absently as Zack's hand descended on his hair, ruffling it. He pushed him gently away. “Is it important?”  
  
“They found Reno who got hold of some intel.” Zack said, taking a seat at Cloud's side and mirroring his position. “It's nice here. Peaceful.”  
  
“Yeah.” Cloud sighed, leaning back on his hands and looking up through the tree tops into the night sky.   
  
“How are you feeling?”  
  
“Fine.” Cloud turned to look at Zack, “No headaches, if that's what you mean.”  
  
“Ok. Yeah...good.” Zack sighed slowly, “Tifa's worried though, maybe you should-”  
  
“I don't have to do anything. I just...wanted to be alone.” Cloud returned his gaze to the forest.  
  
Zack rubbed at the back of his head, “It's normal for friends to worry, you know.”  
  
Cloud ducked his head, “Maybe I don't need anyone worrying about me?”  
  
“Feelings don't usually work like that, buddy. Sorry.” Zack smiled a little, “But hey, it's nice when people do worry. It means they care. You've got some good friends.”  
  
Cloud said nothing, he rested his chin on his arm and continued to stare into the darkness as it curled around him like smoke. Zack kicked his legs back and forth, boots hitting the side of the shell-like house with a hollow thudding sound.   
  
“My mom used to worry about me.” Cloud said suddenly, his voice a little rough around the edges. He dropped his legs and leaned further over the edge as if he was considering jumping. Not that such a fall would do any damage. “She'd tell me all the time how people in the city were bad and that I'd get into trouble there.” He paused, looking up at the stars, “She never understood. Not my mom, not Tifa...”   
  
“Seems to be a country-mom thing. Mine was the same. She'd always tell me to be more careful, she hated it when I came home with bruises and sprains. I was an idiot kid. Always getting myself into some kinda trouble. I'd always be there to stick up for the kids who couldn't stick up for themselves, you know? I tried to be everyone's friend. Not everyone liked that. Old Gill who ran the Inn used to drag me back home by my ear for always getting into his chickens and scaring them.” Zack laughed lightly, shaking his head, “I really liked eggs.” He glanced sideways at Cloud who didn't seem to be listening. He had a strange, glazed look in his eyes as he stared into nothing. “Cloud? Hey.” Zack reached out to shake him but Cloud seemed to come back to himself with a shudder. He blinked and shook his head quickly, eyes wide and pupils thin.   
  
“I gotta go. Tell the others I'll be back later and they can catch me up.” Cloud muttered vaguely, he rose, balanced right on the very edge of the roof top. He didn't wait for Zack to answer before he let himself drop. He fell and landed, bending his knees as he did so before walking off deeper into the forest.  
  
Cloud walked slowly, the trees enveloping him as he stepped off of the path. He ducked beneath a low hanging branch and pushed another out of his way. Glancing around he realised he couldn't hear anything except his own breathing. He looked back over his shoulder, no longer able to see the house or hear Zack calling his name. He turned back, catching a glimpse of silver through the darkness.   
  
His feet moved, almost against his will. He crept forward, pushing bushes out of his way as he went. The snap of a twig made him lift his hand, reaching for the hilt of his sword. He looked to the left, peering through the white trees. He caught a glimpse of silver hair, a flash of light glinting from a naked blade. Cloud darted after it, “Hey! Wait!” He called, stumbling over a fallen branch. He righted himself and followed the sound of boots through the undergrowth.   
  
He ran, leaping over a log and ducking under branches. Wincing when one caught his cheek. Finally he stumbled into a clearing, looking around and panting. Sephiroth stood before a huge white tree, much thicker than all the others. He turned, a faint smile on his lips as moonlight caught the edge of his blade. “Good, Cloud,” He said, finally turning. He lifted a hand, “Come here.”  
  
Cloud's feet moved. He felt sick, his limbs struggling to do what he told them. As he reached Sephiroth he tripped over his own feet, Sephiroth caught him. “Wha-what did...what did you do to me?” Cloud mumbled, his voice thick and sluggish as he gripped Sephiroth's arm.  
  
“I did what had to be done, Cloud.” Sephiroth used his fingers to lift Cloud's chin so they were looking into each others eyes. The air rippled around them, distorting weirdly as shadows elongated. They seemed to reach for Sephiroth, stretching out long dark fingers as if even they couldn't stand to be parted from him. “Don't you see? This is what you are. What you were always meant to be.” Leather-clad fingers dug into Cloud's jaw as his head was tilted further back. The shadows drew closer, devouring the moonlight as they closed in. They travelled up Cloud's body, shimmering as they went.  
  
“N-no.” Cloud shook his head weakly, baring his teeth. “ _No_.”  
  
Sephiroth's eyes flashed green, his smile widening. “Denial will only cause you more pain. I've only given you that which you desire most. Give in, Cloud. Let it consume you.”  
  
Cloud's eyes snapped shut as agony seared through his body like fire. He tried to bite back a scream, lips peeling away from his teeth. Sephiroth released him and he hit the ground, knees thudding against leaf mulch. He grabbed at his head. A steady, throbbing pain steadily growing worse. Soon it became too much and he let out a helpless scream. Something tore itself from his shoulder, a sudden weight and black feathers scattered the clearing.   
  
Cloud sat there, head bowed and breathing heavily. His hands fell from his head as the pain eased. Slowly he lifted his head, watching black feathers fall before him. He turned his head to the left, seeing a long shadow cast by the moonlight. He followed it with his gaze and saw the huge wing extending from his own shoulder. “No.” He whispered, voice hoarse as he snapped his gaze back to Sephiroth.  
  
“Is this not what you wanted, Cloud?” Sephiroth gestured with one hand.  
  
“No. No.” Cloud shook his head, panic tightening his chest. He struggled to his feet, falling backwards as Sephiroth made to grab him. He trembled, lifting his hands to his face. “ _No_!” His face contorted, “You _bastard!_ ” He cried, yanking his sword from its sheath and launching himself at Sephiroth.   
  
Sephiroth smiled. He lifted Masamune and blocked, then, as easily as if he was swatting a fly, he threw Cloud across the clearing straight into a tree. Cloud grunted on impact, fingers going numb, he lost his sword and it clattered to the floor. Once again he landed on his knees at Sephiroth's feet. “I've given you a gift.” Sephiroth's cool voice washed over Cloud, through his core. He shivered, hands limp at his sides. He lifted Masamune, turning it so that the sharp edge pressed against Cloud's throat. “You belong to me, Cloud. You are my...”  
  
“No.” Cloud whispered, closing his eyes as the blade dug into his jaw.  
  
“...Puppet.”  
  
With the sound of a beating wing, Sephiroth was gone. Cloud bent over, wrapping his arms around himself. His own newly acquired wing curled around his body, blocking out the moon.


End file.
